Lies
by SerenBex
Summary: Two years after the events of Secrets things aren't running smoothly for Hannah and Jo. When a face from the past reappears, can they work out what's going on before things go very wrong?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is set two years after Secrets, but during series 24 of The Bill, whereas Secrets was set during series 23.**_

_**Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of The Bill characters. Sadly.**_

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Hannah wasn't coping.

Two years had passed since she'd been abducted by Simon Hardcastle and, for a while, everything had been great. It had been two months before she was allowed to go home and a further two months until she was allowed to return to work. By then she was six months pregnant and restricted to desk duties anyway.

Jo needed more reassurance than her girlfriend during the pregnancy. Hannah had done it three times before and knew, as far as was possible, what to expect. To the brunette, however, it was a completely new experience. Her keenness to protect the younger woman from everything possible until the baby was born almost drove Hannah to distraction, unused to having someone around telling her to slow down or think about her health.

The problems really started a month or so after the baby, Caitlin, was born at the beginning of October. Hannah had trouble sleeping and was irritated and weepy almost all the time. Jo felt guilty that her girlfriend was getting so little sleep but did her best to support her. When she suggested that Hannah slept in the spare room so that she could attempt to get an uninterrupted night's sleep, the red-head flew off the handle, storming out of the house without a second thought for the children. On her return, she had broken down in tears. Sensing something was wrong, Jo had forced her girlfriend to the doctor's where Hannah was diagnosed with postnatal depression and put on a course of anti-depressants. From then on, the brunette had done her best to take a lot of the strain from her. Her efforts had backfired, leaving Hannah feeling as though she was under attack and that Jo didn't trust her with the children anymore.

In June, Jo had moved out.

Both women were stubborn and when, in the heat of an argument, Hannah had furiously suggested that they called it a day, Jo snapped that maybe they should. With the words hanging in the air between them, the brunette left and went to stay with Sam and Phil while she looked for somewhere else to live. Neither had really wanted to end the relationship but their defences went up and both pretended to be happy with their separation, refusing to back down. As hard as it was, they remained friends and colleagues, not letting on how much seeing the other constantly but not being able to admit their feelings was killing them.

A couple of months later both Ellie and Freya moved back to Cardiff to attend the University, neither leaving on particularly good terms with Hannah. Both were annoyed that she was flatly refusing to admit that she missed Jo and wanted her back. Max, too, was angry with his sister. Two months after the girls left, following a blazing row with the red-headed detective, he packed his bags and moved in with Jo.

Feeling pressure from all sides, Hannah had retreated into herself, keeping even more locked up inside than she had when she'd first arrived back in Canley. She had even requested a transfer from Sun Hill CID, but Jack and Sam had persuaded her that she was an instrumental part of the team and practically refused to let her leave. Sam had tried to talk to her, but it had been Jack who had convinced her to drop the transfer request by pointing out that she was strong enough to get through whatever was bothering her and she needed to stop her punishing herself.

When Hannah had been put on the night shift not long after her return to work, Ellie and Freya had pushed for Jo to move back in to look after the kids while she was out. With neither able to think of a reason why it was a problem, seeing as both were adamant that they were happy returning to their former friendship, the pair were forced into close proximity. If the girls had been hoping that they would rekindle their relationship they were sadly mistaken; both Hannah and Jo closed down even more in an attempt to stop themselves hurting.

One early-March afternoon two years after she herself had been abducted by Simon Henderson and nine months after her split from Jo, Hannah found herself working on a case with DC Moss. Usually she counted the blonde as a close friend but at that moment Stevie's bubbly personality was grating on her as they sat in one of the pool cars, watching a suspect carefully. After almost three hours in her company Hannah wanted to scream.

"… so then I said there was absolutely no way I could deal with another bottle and he said that I was being boring." Stevie chattered happily, taking no notice of her colleague's closed eyes and the fact that she was leaning her head back against the head-rest.

"Great…"

"Yeah, I know! But then I ended up drinking the bottle and we were so drunk that we thought his Mum and Dad's back garden was his bedroom and slept in a flowerbed." The blonde finished her story with a giggle. "How did you spend your 21st?"

Hannah thought for a moment, before turning her head and fixing the blonde woman with a hard look. "I went to McDonald's with two six-year-olds and a two-year-old."

"Oh… yeah… I always forget you've got kids."

"Well, those particular kids have decided that they don't want me around anymore." She muttered bitterly.

"Your little brother lives with Jo now, doesn't he?" Stevie asked without thinking.

Clenching a fist and looking out of the window, Hannah replied bitterly. "Yeah, he does."

"Why? I mean, I know you and her were together for a long time, but…"

"I don't want–" Hannah started gruffly, before something caught her attention outside and she pointed it out to her colleague. "Look… Taylor and Jones… Let's go."

Putting the car into gear, she started tailing their suspects, grateful for the interruption to the conversation with Stevie. She made sure the topics of conversation stayed within the boundaries of what she was comfortable with. Anytime Stevie appeared to be steering the conversation back to shaky ground, Hannah would take control once more and firmly redirect it.

They finally decided that they'd gathered enough evidence against the two men and arrested them, taking them into the station and handing them over to the Custody Sergeant before heading up the stairs to CID to report back to the DCI. He wasn't in the best of moods, snapping at the two women as they gave him a run-down on their day. Relieved, they escaped from his office and collected their things from their desks.

"Fancy a drink, mate?" Stevie asked, smiling at Hannah. "It is Friday night."

Before she could reply, Jo appeared in the office. Spotting the red-head, she smiled weakly and made her way over quickly. Not meeting her eyes, she perched on the desk beside her. "Listen… I know I was supposed to be having the kids tonight, but… any chance we can rearrange for tomorrow instead?"

"Sure." Hannah agreed easily, glad for an excuse not to go to the pub with Stevie. "Any particular reason?"

"Oh…" The brunette looked incredibly uncomfortable at the question.

"You don't have to tell me if…"

"I have a date." Jo blurted, apparently wanting to get the admission over and done with.

Hannah felt as though she'd just been shot in the chest. Whatever she'd been expecting it wasn't that. Painting on a smile, although her heart was contracting worryingly, the younger woman nodded. "Of course… that's… have fun."

Not waiting for a reply, she fled from the office and down the stairs. Almost knocking Inspector Gold over she rushed to her car and threw herself into the driver's seat, determined to get as far away from the station as possible as quickly as possible. Rationally she knew she had no right to be upset about Jo's announcement but irrationally she didn't know whether to be more angry or upset.

Once the baby-sitter had left, Hannah got her sixteen-month and four-year-old daughters off to bed and left Theo safely up in his bedroom playing until he, too, was put to bed. Then the woman had nothing to distract her from replaying Jo's announcement over and over again. She wandered aimlessly through the house for a little while, but everywhere there were constant reminders of the brunette; photos the red-head couldn't bear to hide away, however painful the memories evoked were; odd things belonging to the older woman that had been left behind or overlooked; a few items of clothing that were still in the wardrobe or the drawers; the children's drawings of their mad little family stuck to the fridge. Dropping a photo of the eight of them taken the Christmas before, when Jo and Hannah had been pretending that spending the holiday together for the children's sake didn't bother them, into a drawer and slamming it closed, she sat heavily at the kitchen table and opened a bottle of wine. Before Hannah knew it, the bottle on the table in front of her was more than half empty.

"Mum?" A small voice said from the doorway. "Are you alright?"

"Me? I'm just fine, baby." She replied with forced cheerfulness. Swaying slightly as she stood, Hannah moved towards Theo and cuddled him tightly to her as though he, too, was about to leave. "Come on… let's get you to bed."

When the eight-year-old was tucked up and Hannah was sitting beside him, stroking his hair gently, he gazed up at her. "I wish you were happy."

"What?" She laughed softly. "I am happy, darling. I've got you and your little sisters to make sure of that."

"What about Ellie and Freya and Max and Jo?" He pressed. "I miss them."

"Me too…" His mother admitted. "But they all love you lots and lots. Don't ever forget that, sweetheart."

With a sleepy sigh, Theo closed his eyes and rolled over, cuddling his teddy. "They love you too, Mum."

Waiting a couple of moments to check he was asleep, Hannah stood up and moved to the door. She watched him for a second, before shaking her head. "No, baby, they don't."


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of Hannah's Friday night disappeared along with the rest of the bottle of wine and then a second bottle. She didn't even manage to make it upstairs before crashing out and falling asleep on the sofa.

She was woken the next morning by Molly turning on the television and cheesy cartoon theme music bringing her abruptly into the world of the conscious. The detective groaned and sat up. Then she clutched her head and lay down again, rolling over and burying her face into the sofa cushions against the sound and light in the room.

"Mummy, can we go to Pizza Hut for lunch?" Her daughter asked, completely ignoring the fact that she was lying face down and climbing all over her anyway.

Hannah groaned, before twisting and hauling herself into a seated position. She caught Molly in her arms and hugged her, planting a kiss on her head. "We'll see. You and Theo have swimming this morning, so we'll have to see if you deserve a treat."

Glancing at the time, the red-head swore and rushed up the stairs. Ignoring the pounding in her head, she hurriedly got on with the usual Saturday morning routine. When all three children were fed and happily watching cartoons, Hannah just about had time to shower and throw on some clothes before she was sweeping them out of the house and into the car, driving quickly towards the swimming pool where their lessons were held.

Pulling out her mobile as she sat in the gallery above the pool with Caitlin on her lap, Hannah started texting Jo. _**'Hope you had a good time last night. What time were you thinking of seeing the kids? x'**_ She re-read the message several times hoping that it sounded detached but not cold. Hannah found it difficult to get the balance right sometimes and she knew that occasionally her tone or choice of words probably hurt Jo.

Tucking the phone into the pocket of her jacket which was draped over the hard, plastic seat beside hers, the woman leant forwards and positioned her youngest daughter so that Caitlin could peer over the partition and look down into the water where her brother and sister were being taught to swim. Hannah watched Theo and Molly's progress at either end of the large swimming pool in their different groups, trying to ignore the stifling heat and humidity that was making her hangover far worse. The motion of the children backwards and forwards through the water wasn't helping much either. She leant back in the chair, thinking hard. Before Jo, she had managed to juggle everything to a large extent. Obviously there were certain sacrifices that had to be made on her part and on the children's. Now it was no different. Working alternate weekends was a blessing – on her weekends off when she could spend time with the children and manage to take them out, not just to swimming but also to do things together – but also a curse – when she was forced to call in favours or pay over the odds for someone to look after her kids while she was at work. When she was working and Jo wasn't, it was simple; they went to Jo. It hadn't even occurred to either of them that that wouldn't happen.

Jumping slightly as her mobile vibrated loudly against the plastic of the seat, Hannah rummaged in her pocket awkwardly with one hand and pulled it out. She checked it quickly. _**'They're at swimming til 12:45, right? Shall I meet you outside the leisure centre afterwards? x'**_ Frowning, the red-head noticed at once that Jo hadn't made any reference to the statement about the date she'd been on the night before and wondered whether there was any reason or whether it was simply because she was too nice to rub her nose in it.

She quickly composed a reply; _**'Sounds good. They'll be so excited to see you. x'**_ before returning her attention to the lessons going on below. When they ended and she gathered up her things and her daughter and headed down to the changing rooms. As she'd suspected the children were over the moon at the news that Jo was picking them up, although Hannah was forced to deflect questions about whether she was going with them.

"I sort of promised Molly that they could go to Pizza Hut for lunch." Hannah told Jo with an apologetic smile, shifting Caitlin into her arms.

"That's fine by me!" The brunette said with a grin at the four-year-old. "Who doesn't love pizza?" As Molly and Theo climbed into her car cheerfully discussing which pizza toppings they wanted, the two detectives smiled at each other slightly awkwardly.

"How was your date?" Hannah asked, half-intrigued and half-dreading the answer she might receive.

Jo smiled and shrugged, but didn't answer the question. "I'll get them back by teatime."

Hannah shook her head at her, wondering what the refusal to comment meant. "Don't be silly; they're your kids too. Look… I wanted to ask you a favour anyway. Can you watch them tonight? I'm going out."

"Oh…" Jo's smile faltered slightly at the red-head's words. "Right. Of course. That's no problem." She glanced over her shoulder. "I'd better…"

Nodding as she motioned towards the car, Hannah prodded Caitlin's nose gently and waved at the other two who were already settled in their seats, before turning and heading away. She unlocked her own car and slid into the driver's side before taking a deep breath and pulling out her mobile. Scrolling through her contacts quickly, she selected a number and held the phone to her ear.

"Sam? You're not working tomorrow, are you?" She asked.

"No, it's my day off. Why?"

"I fancy getting absolutely trollied. You in?"

There was a slight pause before her friend answered. "Has something happened?"

"No, I just fancy a night out, that's all. Jo's got the kids, so I'm free. So are you in or not? See if any of the others are up for it, too."

"I get off shift at eight, so I'll meet you at The Lounge at about half past. I'll see if anyone else fancies it." Sam told her, referring to a wine bar not too far from the station.

Hannah agreed and said goodbye. She hung up and glanced at the time, deciding to go home and sort the house out before getting ready to go out. It was about time she got round to doing all the little jobs she'd been putting off for a while. There was washing and ironing to do, not to mention general tidying and cleaning. It wasn't a prospect that filled the detective with joy or even an urge to rush home, but she knew it needed to be done. Especially if Jo was coming over later; she didn't want her ex-partner to think she was struggling to keep things normal and under control at home.

The most important thing the woman had to do was clear away all the evidence of just how much she had been drinking lately. Having a suspicious nature herself, and knowing Jo was no different, the red-head had moved the empty bottles out of the recycling and stashed a couple in various different places outside. Several went under the cover over the swing-seat, some were hidden behind the shed and Hannah even hid some in the bush at the end of the lawn. Most of the bottles, however, were stored in the garage in random boxes of the children's old toys and clothes. As she locked the door, the reality of the lengths she was going to to ensure Jo didn't realise just how much she was relying on alcohol to get through hit her. She clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes closed as she wondered how she'd got to this, but then she shook her head and hurried inside to unload the tumble dryer.

By the time Jo and the kids arrived, Hannah had returned the house to its proper state. Nothing was out of place. The piles of dirty and clean washing had been dealt with, everywhere had been hovered and there was a faint smell of cleaning products in the air. Hannah greeted them with a bright smile, jogging down the stairs at the sound of the front door.

"Did you have a nice time?" She asked as Molly wrapped her arms around her tightly. "What did you do?"

"We went to Pizza Hut." Theo told her. "Molly was sick." Hannah raised an eyebrow at Jo questioningly, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "She had five bowls of ice cream."

"No wonder you were sick then, sweetheart." Her mother said, bending to pull the little girl into her arms, clutching her to her hip and pinching her chin between her thumb and index finger. "Are you OK now?"

Molly nodded. "Yes… we went to the play centre after."

"There's not much wrong with you then, is there?"

"Has your headache gone now?" Theo asked, blinking up at her anxiously.

Hannah smiled at how thoughtful he was and ruffled his hair, deliberately not meeting Jo's questioning eyes. "I'm fine, thank you, baby."

He smiled and headed away. Molly wriggled until she was put down and ran off into the living room as she heard her older brother turning on the television. Seeing her sister's actions, Caitlin started wriggling too. Jo placed her gently on the floor and both women watched as she toddled into the living room. There was a tense pause.

"I'm gonna..." Hannah murmured, motioning towards the staircase and turning quickly.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she headed hastily upstairs, shutting herself in her bedroom and leaning against the closed door. With a sigh, Hannah pushed herself away from it and carried on getting ready from where she'd left off when she had heard the front door. Settling herself at the dressing table in front of the mirror she pouted slightly, examining her appearance critically. Hannah tilted her head, scrutinising her reflection from as many angles as she could manage before sighing and starting to apply her makeup.

She paid more attention than usual, making sure she really looked her best. Hannah took so long that, by the time she switched her hair straighteners off and checked her appearance one last time, she was running late. Grabbing a pair of heels and her leather jacket from the wardrobe, she headed quickly down the stairs and into the living room. Hannah perched on the arm of the sofa to pull her shoes on and fasten the buckles around her ankles.

"Right, I'm off." She announced, standing up and shrugging her jacket on. Flicking her hair out from where it had got caught inside, she bent to kiss each of her children on their heads. "Be good."

"You look... nice." Jo told her guardedly, barely glancing away from whatever reality show they were watching on the television.

Her apparent lack of interest made the red-head's heart sink slightly and she frowned at the thought that all her efforts had gone unnoticed. Although she knew she had no right to expect anything from the brunette, Hannah had half hoped that Jo would slip up and give some indication of how she was really feeling. But there had been nothing.

Composing herself once more, Hannah moved to the door, picking up her clutch bag as she went. "I've got my keys, so I'll see you all in the morning."

"Alright, have fun." Jo told her, shooting a fleeting smile in her direction before her attention was captured by the television once more.


	3. Chapter 3

"Another round?" Nate offered, glancing between the women in the little corner of the wine bar that they had taken over.

Sam had opened Hannah's invitation to the rest of CID and then Stevie had passed it on to Uniform via Smithy. Most of those on duty that day had decided that a night out was very much on the cards after the shift they'd been subjected to. Even Gina had eagerly ventured out with her relief and bought the first round. The way the evening seemed to be panning out it seemed likely that Sun Hill would be policed by incredibly hungover officers the next day. Most of them had passed tipsy a while ago.

"Go on then!" Hannah agreed with a grin. "I vote we go somewhere else after these."

"Somewhere with decent music!" Stevie agreed, nudging her friend in the ribs and nodding enthusiastically. "I fancy a dance." As the male PC moved towards the bar to place their order, the blonde turned to Hannah and raised an eyebrow. "So, you on the pull, DC McKay?"

"Eh?" The red-head frowned lightly, draining her glass and replacing it on the table before turning to look at her properly. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Sam and Phil, who had joined them when he'd finished work, were also fixing her with curious stares. "What are you on about?"

"You look bloody fantastic, so are you on the pull?"

"No." She answered at once. "No, of course I'm… I just want to get smashed and have a laugh with my mates, alright? I'm a responsible mother of four, Stephanie; I'm done with all that."

Stevie shrugged and grinned. "You're the same age as me and I'm definitely not past it."

"Oi!" Hannah complained good-naturedly. "I never said I was past it!"

"Whatever! I bet you can't get those guys over there to buy you a drink." The blonde challenged with a mischievous grin, pointing at a couple of young men leaning against the bar. They looked about the same age as Ellie and Freya and were very obviously eyeing up Beth, Sally and Emma who were waiting to be served.

As Nate returned with their drinks, Hannah narrowed her eyes and picked up two of the shot glasses on the tray he had just put down on the table. Downing the liquid quickly, she climbed unsteadily to her feet and made her way towards the men, accepting Stevie's challenge. Sam and Phil watched her progress towards the bar warily, both nervously wondering whether they would have to intervene at some point. Stevie, however, watched with evident amusement as the red-head reached her pray.

"Where's Han going?" Smithy asked, dropping onto the sofa beside Stevie.

"Stevie just bet her that she couldn't get a drink off those young men." Gina informed him, nodding towards the scene unfolding at the bar. "If they were any younger I'd be nicking them for being underage."

"Ahh, but she does hold the appeal of being an older woman." Callum pointed out with a chuckle.

They watched as Hannah laughed and laid a hand on one of the men's arms, leaning forwards as he said something in her ear. Whatever he said caused her to step back, shaking her head slightly. The man shrugged, before Hannah laughed again and stepped towards him. She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him for a couple of minutes, before drawing back and leaning casually on the bar. A moment later she was making her way towards them with a large glass of wine in her hand.

"I've still got it." She announced, dropping onto the sofa beside Stevie and practically draining the alcohol in her glass in one go.

Nikki shook her head. "It doesn't count if you have to give them a kiss. The idea is that you get a drink for nothing."

Hannah shrugged. "He'd already ordered it by then, so technically I did get it for nothing. The kiss was a bonus. The first I've had in… too long." Her face clouded over for a moment and she drank the rest of her wine. Then she grinned cheekily. "The worst part is I know him. His name's Kyle and he was in my daughter's English class."

"Hannah McKay you absolute slag!" Stevie teased with a laugh.

Sam looked as though she was about to say something, fixing Hannah with a stern look, but she was prevented from doing so by the arrival of Beth. The young PC leant over the back of the sofa, resting her forearms on Hannah's shoulders.

"Are we going to the club or what?" She asked, looking around.

"I think we'd better before Hannah gets herself stuck with a toy boy." Gina replied with a smirk.

As they quickly finished their drinks and gathered their things, Beth frowned slightly at the red-headed detective. Hannah smiled and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart."

"Are you pissed?"

"Maybe just a little bit." She agreed in an exaggerated whispered and attempted to wink, failing badly and blinking at Beth instead.

"Come here, Mrs Robinson." Callum joked, wrapping an arm around her and walking with her out of the bar and along the road in the direction of the club they had vaguely decided that they would go to.

"Eh? Mrs who?"

"Mrs Robinson?" Gina repeated. "You know… like in _The Graduate_? The iconic older woman?"

"I have no idea what you're going on about." Hannah admitted with a shrug. "I think I need another drink."

They made their way to the club slowly. Gina left them outside, claiming her days of clubbing had long gone and Nikki went with her, saying she had promised Doug she wouldn't be home too late. After an hour or so Emma, Beth, Sally, Callum, Will, Nate and Kezia left because they were all working the next day. A short while after that, Sam decided that Hannah needed to go home as well, leaving Smithy and Stevie alone.

With Phil's help the blonde managed to persuade her friend to leave. They had both lost track of what Hannah had drunk at the bar; let alone what she'd drunk after their arrival at the club. At first the red-head had been defiant and not wanted to go but, when they were waiting outside for a taxi, something had changed in her attitude. Sam was suddenly struck by the intense vulnerability that had appeared in the younger woman's eyes and the pain and hopelessness that was radiating off her in waves.

Changing her mind, she directed the taxi driver to take them all to her house, deciding that Hannah would be better sleeping the alcohol off in her spare bedroom than going home. If nothing else, Sam doubted that Hannah would manage to make it to bed without waking the whole house up. The blonde also didn't think that her friend should be left alone in the state she was in. Fleetingly she wondered whether being forced into Jo's company in the state she was in might encourage them to sort out their differences. Then she realised that Hannah would probably be even more determined to keep her ex-girlfriend at arm's length while she was feeling so vulnerable.

Sam left Phil to pay the driver and helped her friend to the front door, propping Hannah up against the wall as she fumbled with the house keys. The blonde was far from sober herself and it took her a while to locate the correct key and then a while longer to fit it into the lock on the front door. By the time they had made it inside, Hannah was sobbing.

"I'll stay with her until she's asleep." Sam told Phil who was rocking the red-head gently in his arms on the edge of the spare bed. He nodded and left the room as his girlfriend began to undress Hannah, cajoling her into the pyjamas she'd dug out of a drawer for her. "Come on, darling…"

"It's all such a mess, Sam." Hannah sobbed, clinging to her friend's top as Sam attempted to manoeuvre her under the duvet. "I've ruined everything. Everyone hates me."

"No they don't." The blonde assured her, managing to get them both into a comfortable position and cradling the younger woman to her tightly. She stroked Hannah's back reassuringly.

"They do."

"Darling, no one hates you."

"Why not! They should hate me! I hate me!"

Sam had to work hard to stop herself chuckling at the almost indignant tone behind Hannah's words. "Don't be such a stupid cow."

Pulling away to glare at the older woman, Hannah went slightly cross-eyed as she struggled to focus on Sam's face properly. Then, without warning, she lurched forward and pressed her lips insistently against Sam's. For a moment, the alcohol in her system clouding her judgement, the blonde kissed her back. But then she broke it off and rested her forehead against Hannah's sighing.

"Leave it out." She told her. "You're drunk, I'm drunk and I'm not Jo."

"And I'm definitely not Phillip." Hannah giggled, wriggling onto her back and resting her head on Sam's shoulder.

The blonde smiled and leant her head against her friend's. "No, you're definitely not. Now stop being such a tart and go to sleep."

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_**A/N: Hello darlings! I PROBABLY won't be updating again until Friday, because I have a job interview on Tuesday that I'm proper stressing about and it's my birthday on Thursday. It might even be after the weekend when I update, because I've got stuff planned with my mates for the end of next week and, knowing them, I won't be in much of a state to do anything afterwards...**_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter (and the whole thing so far!) and thank you for reading and (if you fancy it?) reviewing! **_

_**Special thanks to GirlonaBridge for your review x**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you still hungover?" Sam asked on Monday morning as Hannah took a long gulp from the oversized water bottle she had produced from her bag.

"No." The younger woman replied sulkily. She popped a couple of pills from their packet and swallowed them quickly with a wince. "I've just got a headache, that's all. Cait didn't sleep very well, so neither did I."

"Oh… so was your little show and getting spectacularly drunk on Saturday because Jo went on a date?"

Irritated by her friend's ability to read her like a book, Hannah shrugged. "I'd forgotten all about that."

Sam arched an eyebrow, not believing her for a moment. There was no way that Hannah would have been able to forget that Jo was going out with someone else. She hesitated, wondering how to raise the subject that she knew would infuriate the red-head even more. "Have you spoken to the girls recently?"

"Not really since they let me know they'd got back OK after Christmas. I spoke to Ellie on her birthday… not for long, though, because she was going out." Hannah admitted bitterly. She'd tried phoning her daughter and sister regularly, but they always seemed to be too busy to have a proper conversation with her. The red-head had convinced herself, not having been to university, that there must be lots of demands on their time and they would contact her when they had the opportunity. She didn't want to admit that they just didn't want to talk to her. "Why?"

"I spoke to Freya the other day… she's worried you're not coping."

Seeing that Hannah might be about to lose her temper, Sam guided her into her office and closed the door firmly behind them. She motioned for the younger woman to sit in the chair in front of her desk, but Hannah simply shook her head stubbornly and folded her arms defensively over her chest. She was hurt and angry that her younger sister had chosen to phone Sam and not her. Hannah already knew that both Ellie and Freya spoke to Jo quite often and, although she didn't mind that both girls adored the brunette, she couldn't help feeling the injustice of the situation. She had spent the past nineteen years looking after them, making sacrifices to provide for them and trying her best to make them happy, but they had decided to ignore all that and choose Jo over her.

"You spoke to Freya?"

"I phoned Ellie to wish her happy birthday and just had a chat with Freya after." Sam admitted, looking away from the annoyed Detective Constable.

"So what did she say then?" She snapped. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Freya told me she'd spoken to Theo and he said that you weren't happy."

Hannah shrugged. "He's eight. He's unhappy when I don't give him pizza for tea or when I tell him he has to have a bath. He applies that logic to me. I was a bit annoyed the other day when they'd run out of white bread at the supermarket, so obviously I must be unhappy. That doesn't mean that I can't cope."

"Look, Hannah, we're just worried about you, that's all." Sam tried to reassure her, ignoring the ridiculousness of her explanation. "I'm worried… I'm worried you might be drinking too much. If you need any help or just someone to talk to there are plenty of people around here who'd be willing to lend an ear. I know how hard it is to bring up one child on your own, let alone six. I'm your friend, sweetheart, and I'd be the last person to judge you; I just want to help." She paused for a moment, seeing that her friend's defences were slowly crumbling and wondering whether she should raise the issue that was at the front of her mind. "If you just talked to Jo; told her how you felt…"

Instantly the shutters went down and Hannah's expression changed. "She walked out on me, remember?"

"You didn't really leave her much choice, though."

"That's exactly what Freya and Ellie said. It's what Max said before he moved out. They're just kids and they think things are much simpler than they are, but I thought I'd at least get some understanding from you." The younger woman snapped, moving to the door.

Sam quickly blocked her exit, standing her ground. She reached out and gripped Hannah's shoulders firmly. Sensing that the red-head was feeling under attack, she loosened her hold and began stroking her arms gently with her thumbs. "I'm not taking sides. Any idiot can see that you and Jo are just tormenting yourselves keeping this up. You are both my friends and I don't want to see either of you suffering when you don't need to be."

"Well… thanks for your concern, Ma'am, but I'm not the one seeing someone else." Hannah told her expressionlessly. Reaching past Sam, she pulled open the office door and strode away, immersing herself in paperwork immediately.

Sighing and running one hand through her hair agitatedly, Sam spotted Jo returning to CID with Grace. They were laughing about something but, as soon as the brunette's eyes landed on her ex-partner, her face fell and she looked away. It was a mystery to Sam how the pair were managing to work so effectively in such close proximity; even when they were paired together on a case they rarely let their masks slip. As far as everyone else on the team was concerned everything was fine. Only Sam really knew how much they were both suffering.

Catching Jo's eye, Sam flicked her head towards her office; indicating that she wanted a word.

"Sam? Everything alright?" Jo asked gently, seeing the concerned expression on her friend's face.

"Not really, no."

The brunette stepped forward, an arm outstretched in an attempt to offer the blonde some comfort for whatever was bothering her. "What is it?"

"Hannah."

"Oh."

"Jo… Freya's spoken to Theo and she doesn't think Han's coping. She's been drinking far too much; she keeps turning up to work with hangovers. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to cover for her with Jack and Heaton. There are only so many times they'll believe she's got a headache. She's refusing to talk about how she's feeling. She's gone into total shutdown like she did with the postnatal depression."

Shrugging, Jo turned away. She walked to the door and peered through the glass panel. Hannah was still at her desk, her chin propped up on one hand, while the other hand supported her forehead. Her eyes were closed and Jo suspected that if she hadn't been at work she'd have been crying or, more likely, drinking a large glass of wine.

"What d'you expect me to do about it, Sam? She barely speaks to me at all, except about work or the kids."

"Hannah barely speaks to anyone. She feels betrayed and abandoned… you, Ellie, Freya, Max… all four of you left her within months of each other. She's convinced that everyone hates her." Holding up her hands before Jo could start arguing, Sam shook her head. "I know she's partly to blame, Jo; I'm not saying it's your fault."

"Look… all I can do is try and get the kids to phone her. It's not like I haven't asked them to before. I don't want to push them too much in case they shut me out too."

Nodding, Sam leant back in her chair. "I know… Anyway, how was your date?"

Jo shrugged, not looking particularly enthused. "It was alright…"

"As your friend I want more than 'it was alright', Jo. Come on, tell me. I need details." Sam pressed, wanting to set her mind at rest that there was no chance of it getting serious between the brunette and this new woman. "Tell me her name and where you went, at least."

"She's called Laura, she's thirty-nine and she's a nurse at St Hugh's. We just went out for a couple of drinks, that's all. She's nice enough, but she's not really my type."

"You know why that is, don't you?" Sam asked, smirking slightly. "It's because she's not Hannah."

Taking a deep breath, Jo rolled her eyes and stalked to the door. "I've got suspects to track down, Sam. I'll see you later."

* * *

_**A/N: I found a minute to update earlier than I thought! :D**_

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter, guys!**_

_**x**_


	5. Chapter 5

"DC McKay?"

Hannah jumped as the Superintendent's voice broke through the haze of her hangover-induced daydream. She shuffled guiltily in her chair in the briefing room, blushing slightly as the gaze of her colleagues from both CID and Uniform looked at her.

"Yes, Sir… sorry." Pulling herself up she strode to take her place beside the large boards that displayed the information of the case she was currently working on. "Umm… OK, so… our main suspects are Danny and Nicky Dockery. These two brothers are well known to the police, although before now there has been nothing to link them to drugs or our other suspects; Anthony Carr, Graham Filler and Owen Patterson." As Hannah pointed to the large mug-shot of each suspect in turn, she realised that her hands were shaking and dropped her arm quickly, clenching her hand into a fist at her side. "I… err… there's a lot of talk on the Larkmead Estate of a new supplier coming in and undercutting the competition. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that over the past two weeks a lot of big names in the drugs scene over there have met with vicious attacks?"

"Robert Edwards, Jackson Kline, Darren Bennet and Sebastian Powell have all been admitted to St Hugh's in the last five days and none of them are willing to make any sort of statement about who attacked them." Inspector Gold added helpfully, turning her sharp gaze on the red-haired detective constable, who looked down quickly.

"I've received information to suggest that in the next couple of days another big deal will be happening, leading to the new dealers being supplied with their gear." Hannah continued. "At the moment I don't have a concrete time or place, but my informant should be getting back to me later today with details."

"Is this information coming from a reliable source?" Grace asked curiously. "It just sounds a bit vague..."

Hannah nodded, fighting against the feeling that she was being personally criticised. "I trust my source. She's never let me down before." Sensing that they wanted more, she clenched her jaw. "I've known her for years."

"Another old school friend?" Mickey joked. It was well-known at the station that Hannah's past had brought her into contact with a whole host of less than squeaky clean characters.

"That's none of your business." The woman snapped back before she could reign in her annoyance.

Shooting her a look, the DCI stepped forwards and outlined what would happen. Uniformed officers were to resume their patrols of the Estate and keep their eyes out for any hint of the suspects or their associates. Mickey and Grace were to set up an obbo on the Dockery brothers, while Terry and Kezia set up surveillance on one of the possible locations for the deal and Stuart and Stevie did the same at the second location.

"Sam, Jo, I want you to see if you can persuade any of our victims in St Hugh's to talk. Hannah, get onto your informant; we need more information as soon as possible."

"Yes, Guv." She agreed, following the others from the briefing room.

Hannah only made a quick stop at her desk to grab her jacket before picking up the keys to a pool car and disappearing from the office with her head down. Sam watched her go with narrowed eyes. There was definitely something wrong with her friend if her performance in the briefing had been anything to go by. Hannah had never been nervous giving details of a case before, but she had definitely been shaking today, not to mention not seeming to be totally aware of what was going on and snapping at Mickey.

As Jo appeared beside her, ready to head to the hospital to interview the battered drug dealers, Sam glanced at her. The brunette sighed, as though she knew what was coming.

"You do agree that there's something wrong with Han, don't you?"

"She's not herself." Jo admitted. "But you know Hannah… unless she wants to talk about whatever's bothering her, she won't. She'll just clam up and shut you out even more."

"I know, I know… can't you try talking to her."

The brunette exhaled sharply. It wasn't that she didn't want to help Hannah; Jo just didn't want to be put in a situation where she was so close to the woman she loved without knowing how she'd react. Jo knew how much it had taken for the red-head to let her in two years ago, but she was still bitter that Hannah had taken her attempts to help her as betrayals. There were layers to the younger woman that no amount of love and attention could get through and Jo wasn't sure whether she could bring herself to face another rejection.

"I'm not promising anything." She muttered at last.

Knowing not to press her any further, Sam just nodded and got into the driving seat of the pool car. When Jo was settled in the other side, she headed out of the car park and both women left their thoughts about Hannah behind.

x-x

Alone in the pool car, Hannah completely ignored the rules by rolling down the window and lighting up a cigarette. When she'd found out she was pregnant with Caitlin, the woman had given up smoking and promised Jo that it was for good. She'd stayed away from cigarettes until Jo had left and then, slowly, her habit had returned. So far she'd managed to keep it to herself and she knew that her friends and family would be less than impressed if they realised she was smoking again.

Parking up outside one of the tower blocks on the Larkmead Estate, Hannah stamped on the end of the cigarette and started towards the building. She nodded at a couple of girls in their late teens as she passed, before wrenching open the door and heading quickly up the stairs to the fourth floor.

"Stel? It's Han." She called through the door.

The DC wondered what state she would find her informant in this time. When she'd visited the flat the week before in the hopes of getting information to help with the case, Stella had been in no fit state to discuss the weather, let alone drug dealers.

The door opened and Hannah smiled at the tall, muscular man framed in the doorway. "Hey, Jake!" She allowed herself to be pulled into a tight hug. "I didn't know you were out of prison?"

"Got out on Saturday, babe. I was gonna ring you, but Mum said you'd probably be round soon." He told her, ushering her inside and closing the flat door. "I know I've said it before, but I'm gonna stay out of trouble this time."

Hannah smirked and shook her head. "I'll believe that when I see it." When he chuckled, she glanced towards the living room. "How's your Mum today?"

"Better than she was yesterday." He told her with a weak smile. "She told me you're on the trail of the latest dealing scumbags. The sooner you nail these bastards the better, Han. She's gonna kill herself one of these days. Coffee?"

Nodding, Hannah wandered through the hall into the living room as Jake vanished into the kitchen. She recognised the resigned acceptance that she'd grown up with as he spoke about his mother's relationship with drugs. Stella had been her mother's best friend and Hannah had known Jake since she was born. Both of them, seeing their parents' struggle with drugs, had been adamant that they would never ruin their lives in the same way. Being six years older than her, Jake had always kept an eye on Hannah. He had reigned in her wild side and kept her under control. Jake had been like a brother to her until things had changed. But, while she had managed to keep herself on the right side of the law, he had got in with the wrong crowd, fallen into drugs for a while and spent his time in and out of prison since he was eighteen. He'd just been released after serving another three year stretch.

Perching on the arm of the sofa, the detective gently prodded the sleeping woman stretched out beside her. Stella grumbled and screwed up her face in irritation at the disturbance. It took a couple of moments for her eyes to focus sufficiently on the younger woman who was smiling at her in amusement.

"Hannah!"

"Hey, Stel. How're you feeling today?"

"Sober." The woman told her, looking as though she wished it wasn't the case.

The detective smirked. "I've got a fag if that'll help?"

Nodding, the older woman accepted the cigarette and allowed Hannah to light it for her. The red-head didn't trust her informant to do it herself. If Hannah's hands had been shaking in the briefing, Stella's tremors were on a whole other level.

"Now… I'm sorry to launch straight into business, but my boss is on my case over the Dockery drugs thing."

"10pm on Thursday." Stella told her with a nod. "D'you know the old warehouse on Standon Street?"

"Yeah, I know it." Hannah agreed. "And are all five suspects going to be there?"

The woman nodded. "I think so. I can't promise, but from what I've heard it looks like it."

Hannah didn't push her anymore, not wanting to know where Stella was getting her information from. She knew from experience that asking more questions than was completely necessary would just make the older woman defensive. It was enough that the woman was helping her; she knew it was because in Stella's opinion the Dockery brothers were vicious thugs who needed putting away. Pulling out her mobile, the detective phoned the information in to the DCI and promised that she'd be heading back as soon as she could. Stella excused herself saying she was going to meet a mate, although Hannah knew instinctively that she was going to meet her dealer.

"You leaving?" Jake asked, returning with a tray of mugs and biscuits on a plate. "I've got coffee; black, two sugars, just how you like it."

"How can I refuse that?" She replied with a grin, moving a large vase off the coffee table so that Jake could set the tray down. Hannah smiled, accepting the mug and sinking down onto the sofa. "I can't stay too long, though."

Nodding, Jake lounged in the other armchair, regarding her with a curious look. "Ellie said you turned dyke for a bit? What happened? You come to your senses now?"

Hannah glared at him. She wasn't sure whether she was more annoyed at his comments or that he'd spoken to the teenager. "So she's spoken to you, has she? That makes one of us."

"She is my daughter, Han." He reminded her.

"She's my daughter too, not that it seems to mean much to her at the moment."

"So? What's with the dyke phase?"

Exhaling sharply, Hannah put her coffee cup down on the table and curled her legs up underneath her. "Who I chose to sleep with hasn't got anything to do with you, Jake. But it wasn't a 'dyke phase', as you so delightfully put it. It was just… Jo. I was in love with Jo."

"Was?"

"Was… am… whatever."

Jake took a bite of his biscuit and shrugged. "So why are you on your own again?" Sensing that Hannah wasn't going to answer he stood up and crossed the room. Pulling her out of the chair, he sat down and pulled her down onto his lap into a tight hug. "Come on, Hans. I'm your oldest mate; you tell me everything. Talk to me, babe."

"I need to go back to work." She mumbled, trying to extricate herself from his grip.

"Not until you tell me what happened." He argued. "Ellie said you kicked her out. She said that Max went to live with this Jo woman? What's gone on?"

"I messed up, Jake. I freaked out and I pushed her away. I lost the woman I love because I'm so screwed up." She told him, bitterness and anger spilling from her in waves.

He stroked her hair, rocking her gently. "You can get her back, Hans, if you really want to. You know you can wrap anyone round your little finger if you try hard enough."

"Not this time. She's got someone else."

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you for reading! And massive thank you to GirlonaBridge for the review! :D**_


	6. Chapter 6

"According to DC McKay's informant, the deal is set to go down at 10pm on Thursday at the old warehouse on Standon Street." DCI Meadows told the assembled officers at the morning briefing the next day. "That gives us three days to ensure we're prepared to close this supply chain down."

Hannah had phoned the DCI after breaking down in front of Jake and told him she was ill and wouldn't be coming back to the station. He almost definitely hadn't believed her, but he'd agreed that she could go home on the condition that she made sure she was back at work promptly and on form the next morning. After her conversation with Jake, Hannah couldn't face seeing Jo straight away in case she broke down again.

That morning, despite her promise to her boss, she was struggling to concentrate. She had yet another hangover thanks to consuming two bottles of wine and, with all three children playing her up before she left for work and what little she remembered of the night before, she was in a terrible mood.

"Well?"

"What?" Hannah snapped, finding everyone looking at her expectantly. With a start, she sat up straight and blushed. "Sorry, Guv…"

"I was just asking whether we know for definite whether both Dockery brothers, Carr, Filler and Patterson are all going to be involved in the handover." The DCI informed her, his eyes narrowing at the glazed expression on his DC's face.

"Oh. No, Guv. My informant couldn't be sure; she didn't want to promise anything."

The briefing continued and Hannah sank back into her seat, barely listening. When it finally ended, the red-head found herself being firmly guided out of the room by Sam, who took her straight to her office and closed the door.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sam shouted as soon as Hannah had sunk down into the chair in front of her desk. "I might be your friend, but I won't give you preferential treatment, Hannah. And don't even think about giving me any bullshit about you being fine. I know you too well for that."

"I don't know what you want me to say, Sam."

"I want the truth, Hannah. How much are you drinking?"

The Detective Constable frowned. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Everything! The Hannah I know and love doesn't go around kissing boys young enough to be her son, let alone me, however drunk she gets!"

"I've already apologised for that." Hannah reminded her, wincing slightly and unable to stop a blush creeping over her cheeks.

"I know that and I don't want an apology. It happened and it's not going to affect our friendship. I just need to know that you're in control. If I think you're likely to put this operation at risk I won't think twice about sending you home."

Her threat seemed to shake Hannah out of whatever daydream she was in. "You can't do that, Sam! It was my informant's information that gave us the Dockery brothers and the others to begin with."

"The way you're acting at the moment you'll put yourself or someone else in danger and I'm not going to let that happen."

"I'm not leaving." She warned her superior. "What if Stella rings with more information?"

"Is Stella your informant?"

Sighing, Hannah nodded. "Stella Webster."

"Webster? Not Jake Webster's mother?" Sam asked frowning. When the red-head nodded, she perched on the desk looking confused. "How do you know her?"

"Jake is Ellie's dad."

"What?"

"Jake Webster is the father of my daughter." Hannah told her slowly. "Sharon, my mother, and Stella Webster were best mates and Jake and I grew up on the Larkmead together. We both said that we'd never get into drugs and end up like them. Ellie was an accident… He was… I got mixed up with a gang and Jake got me out. He looked after me and one thing led to another. He's my oldest friend… he's always been there when I've been lonely or just… needed someone."

"Except when he was in prison." Sam pointed out.

Hannah glared at her. "Like your choices have been so perfect?"

Taking a deep breath, the petite blonde chose not to react. "Does Ellie know that Jake Webster's her father? When did you last see him?"

"Yeah, Ellie knows. Whatever else he is, he's a good dad." She insisted, ignoring her superior's second question and the disbelieving look on her face. "He's such a good dad that Ellie phoned him recently and she hasn't bothered to even answer my calls."

Glossing over the subject that was an incredibly sore point for the younger detective, Sam repeated her second question, suspecting that the answer she would receive was not one she'd want to hear. Hannah tilted her head so that her hair swept across her face and covered most of it from view. When she answered her voice was so hushed that Sam couldn't hear.

"I'm not a bat, DC McKay… please speak at a volume I can hear."

"Last night."

"Hannah… we think that Jake might be involved in the drugs supply chain. Last night Stuart and Stevie saw someone matching his description entering the warehouse we had under observation with the Dockery brothers." Sam told her softly. "So I really need to know exactly when and where you saw him."

"Jake wouldn't do that."

"How can you be so sure? He's got convictions for drug offences and he's been in and out of prison since he was eighteen."

The red-head nodded. "Yeah, I know all that; I arrested him three times when I was at Barton Street. But I've known Jake for thirty-three years, since I was born. Jake knows that his mum is my informant and he knows what she told me. He wouldn't get involved in dealing drugs. Besides… he was with me last night, so it can't have been him."

Sam looked a little uncomfortable. "Han… you know how this works. I need to know about last night."

"When I went round to see Stella yesterday afternoon, Jake was there. I didn't know that he was out of Longmarsh so I was surprised to see him. Stella's a junkie and she went out not long after giving me the information on the deal." Hannah told her, still confident that Jake had done nothing wrong. "Jake mentioned that Ellie had told him about me and Jo and he wanted to know… well, he wanted to know about it. I ended up spilling my guts; Jake's always known how to get through to me… and then he came round to mine for dinner."

"What time did he leave?"

"I'm not sure… late." She sighed, knowing that Sam was about to tell her off for being evasive. "We went to bed about ten…"

"Together?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

Unable to meet her eyes, Hannah stared down at her hands. "I was drunk… I didn't want to be on my own. I was upset…"

"So you don't know what time he left?"

"No." The DC admitted quietly. "Look, Sam… let me talk to him, please. He won't lie to me. If he admits he knows something we don't then I'll bring him in and get him to tell us everything."

Sam considered her for a moment wondering what to do. By rights she should flatly refuse to even think about letting Hannah go and talk to Jake. If he was involved in the deal and tipped off the others then the red-headed DC would be in serious trouble.

"Please don't make me regret this." She answered at last, imploring Hannah as a friend.

Hannah shook her head. "I won't, Sam."

x-x

"Jake?" Hannah called cautiously, pushing the door of the Websters' flat open.

The door was already ajar, setting her on edge. Pulling her asp out of her jacket pocket and flicking it open, she advanced carefully into the flat. Keeping her wits about her, Hannah checked every room and discovered that it was empty.

"Han?" A voice called from behind her, making the woman jump and whirl around.

"Shit, Jake… you scared the crap out of me." She admitted, feeling her heart hammering in her chest. "What's happened?"

"You tell me. I've been out all morning. Mum probably just got high and forgot to shut the door again." He shrugged, apparently not bothered. "What brings you here? Couldn't wait to see me again?"

In the cold, sober light of day Hannah came to her senses and avoided the hug he was aiming her way moving to look out of the flat window, reminding herself that getting too involved was a bad idea and not what she wanted. "Were you at the old warehouse on Standon Street last night?"

"I was with you, babe." He reminded her. "Or am I that bad in bed compared to your girlfriend that you've forgotten about it."

"Don't mess me around, Jake." She snapped. "My colleagues identified you specifically. This is my career on the line. They're going to want to pull you in over this… Oh god…" She covered her face with her hands and groaned. "I'll be your alibi and then…"

"Then everyone will know that I spent the night with you, including your girlfriend."

Glaring at him, Hannah clenched her fists. "Stop calling her that! She left me, remember." Taking a breath, she started to think. "Look… why were you there? Have you got anything to do with the drug deal?"

"No!"

"Jake, if you are involved and the operation goes tits up, I'm screwed. They're going to think that I tipped you off."

"But you haven't told me anything."

"I know, but you were here when your Mum gave me the information on the time and location. You know that we know when and where and you could have passed it on to the Dockery brothers last night. If they suddenly change their plan I'm going to be number one suspect." She told him quietly. "I can't lose my job, Jake. If I lose my job I lose everything."

He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. "It'll be alright."

"Is this you promising you have nothing to do with the deal?"

"Yes, Hannah… I can't believe you needed to ask."

She winced. "I'm sorry. I just needed to be sure; there's too much at stake. So why were you there?"

"I wanted to warn them to keep away from Mum." He admitted, letting go of her and moving to stand in the spot in front of the window that Hannah had recently vacated. "She's trying to get clean. I know it doesn't seem like it, but she is and she can't if they keep tempting her. I went to the warehouse at about midnight to tell them to stay away."

"I believe you." Hannah told him, moving to stand beside Jake at the window. She slid an arm around his waist. "Promise me that you'll go somewhere that'll provide you with an alibi while the deal's taking place; preferably somewhere with CCTV."

"Surely me not being there will be enough?" Jake laughed.

She shook her head. "Don't risk it, Jake. They've seen you with the Dockery brothers and they think you're involved."

"Alright, princess, for the sake of your career I'll keep my nose clean."

"I'm not just thinking of me, Jake. You've just got out of prison… don't be stupid enough to go straight back in. You're forty… you need to start thinking about getting your life together. Please." Hannah pleaded. "I've arrested you three times before and I won't hesitate to do it again if I have to, but Ellie already hates me and I don't want to be forced into that position."

"I promise."

Letting out a long sigh, she nodded and smiled. "Right… I better get back to work before they get even more suspicious."


	7. Chapter 7

As Hannah walked into the station she passed Jo and Stevie heading out. Sending them a brief, distracted smile the red-head jogged up the stairs to CID in search of the blonde DI. Asking Stuart where Sam was, she was told that she'd headed out to see whether the attacked drug dealers in St Hugh's were willing to give a statement yet.

Anxiously she tried to keep herself busy until she could talk to Sam and set her mind at rest that Jake had nothing to do with the deal. Hannah moved to stand by the boards containing all the information on the suspects and felt her stomach lurch as her eyes settled on the photo of Jake with the Dockery brothers taken the night before. It was inevitable, she supposed, that they'd want to speak to him and she just hoped that he hadn't been lying to her.

"Han?"

"Hey, Sam." She replied softly, not turning to look at her friend as she stood beside her. "It is Jake. He went to the warehouse at about midnight to warn the Dockerys to stay away from Stella. She's trying to get clean, but they keep tempting her. He's got nothing to do with the deal; he was offended that I even asked."

"That's good, for your sake. I've just seen Jo and Stevie bringing him in."

Hannah gasped and turned to face the blonde nervously. "Why?"

"Why d'you think?" Sam asked, frowning at her. "They need to hear why he was meeting our suspects at the location we've got for a major drug deal. There's no reason you'll be mentioned at all."

The Detective Constable snorted derisively. "See, that's where you're wrong. Jake knows about Jo and when he realises that she's the one asking the questions he won't be able to resist telling her everything. He kept referring to her as my girlfriend just to wind me up."

Sam looked shocked. "Would he tell her, though?"

"Oh, yeah. I think for him last night was about proving a point. I think he wanted to prove that I can't possibly be in love with Jo. When I asked him whether he was at the warehouse last night, he reminded me that I'd been with him and then made a comment about wondering whether he was so bad in bed compared to Jo that I'd forgotten about it. Then when I told him to stop messing around he pointed out that if he said anything you'd all know that he was with me, including Jo." Hannah told her quietly. "I don't know what to think… sometimes he seems like the Jake that I know and then… then sometimes it feels like he's deliberately trying to hurt me."

"You are still in love with Jo, then?" Sam asked with a smile.

Hannah arched an eyebrow. "And that's all you got from what I said?"

"Mostly." The blonde agreed with a smirk and a shrug. "Just tell her, sweetheart. Jo wants to hear it."

"After what Jake might tell her, she'll never want to speak to me again."

x-x

"So, Mr Webster, can you confirm that this is you in the photograph?" Jo asked, sliding a piece of paper across the table towards the man. "For the purpose of the tape I am showing Mr Webster item WX3."

"Yeah, that's me, DC Masters." He agreed easily with a smirk.

"What were you doing at the warehouse on Standon Street at twenty-past midnight last night?" Stevie asked.

Jake glanced at her for a second before returning his gaze to Jo. "I knew the Dockery brothers were dealing to my Mum and I knew they'd be at the warehouse." Seeing that they were about to ask how he knew, he smirked. "They ain't the smartest and they were a bit hammered in the pub a couple of days ago, going on about some warehouse they were using as a base."

"So why did you go there?"

"I wanted to warn them to stay away from my Mum. She's trying to get off the gear but it ain't easy with them pushing it at her 24/7."

"What time did you leave Standon Street?"

"About half past twelve."

"And what time did you arrive there?"

"Ten past twelve, maybe? I was at a house a couple of streets away before I went and I left there about twelve." He told them. His eyes locked onto Jo's and he grinned. "If you don't believe me you can ask DC Hannah McKay."

"Why would we do that?" Stevie demanded quickly.

"Because I was at her house last night… 26 Corrison Avenue. It's about a ten minute walk from the warehouse."

Jo balled her hands into fists under the table, wondering what was going on with Hannah at the moment. "Why were you with DC McKay? We will have to speak to her to verify your answer."

"Why d'you think I was there, Jo?" He replied with a smirk. "You should know as well as I do how entertaining Han can be when she's in the mood. I suppose it goes with being a red-head; you know what they say about them being fiery. I think it's safe to say she's well and truly over her little phase."

"Interview suspended at 12:29." Was all Jo said in response to his words. She stood up and stalked out of the interview room without looking at the suspect.

Heading quickly up to the CID office in search of Sam, she passed Hannah without speaking to her. The red-head looked nervous, as though she knew why the older woman was in such a mood. Knocking on the door to the DI's office, she went inside without waiting for an answer, almost slamming the door behind her.

"It's customary for people to wait after knocking." The blonde reminded her. Seeing the expression on her friend's face, she sighed. "What did Webster say?"

"He told me he was with Hannah last night."

Sam sighed. "He was; she told me."

"What?" Jo's exclamation came out as a hiss through her teeth. The expression in her eyes was almost unreadable, even to the petite blonde who took delight in the knowledge that she could almost always read anyone.

Reluctantly, Sam realised that she needed to tell Jo what Hannah had told her. "Sit down, sweetheart."

"I don't want to–" Jo started. Then she saw the expression on her superior's face and acquiesced.

"Hannah's known Jake Webster since she was born; her mother and Jake's were friends. Jake is Ellie's father." She paused at the look of recognition that flickered through Jo's eyes as she remembered the odd mention of 'Jake' or 'Dad' in conversations between Hannah and her eldest daughter.

"How do you know that?"

Sam smiled weakly and shifted slightly in her position perched on the desk. "Hannah's informant who gave us the information for the raid is Stella Webster, Jake's mother. I pulled Han in here to warn her that if her mind wasn't on the job I wouldn't think twice about sending her home and that little snippet of information just slipped out."

"Hannah was fourteen when Ellie was born. Webster must have been… what… twenty?"

Flicking through the papers on her desk, the DI found the CRIMIT report on Webster. "His date of birth is January 22nd 1970, so… he was twenty-one." She shook her head and sighed. "I always forget that Hannah's past isn't a million miles away from most of the people we see in here every day."

"It's no wonder she's such a mess, is it?" Jo muttered bitterly. "If she's so involved with the Websters, surely she's compromised?"

"Not necessarily. Han assured me that if she thought he was involved she'd bring him in herself. She's arrested Jake three times in the past and we both know how much her career means to her; there's no way she'd jeopardise it."

Sighing, with a mixture of relief and frustration, Jo nodded. She leant back in the chair and shook her head. "He was really trying to get to me in that interview."

"What did he say?"

"He told me that I should know how entertaining Hannah could be in the right mood. He also said that she's over her 'little phase', no doubt meaning our relationship." Jo replied bitterly.

Sam reached out and squeezed her hand. "Han told me that last night she thought Webster was trying to prove that she couldn't be in love with you. He kept making comments about you and her and winding her up by continually calling you her girlfriend, even though he knew you'd split up. She came straight to me to tell me because she realised that when Webster was brought in to explain why he was at the warehouse last night he would be only too willing to drop her name into the interview to cause a reaction. Han was gutted when she realised that it was actually you interviewing him; she knew that he'd take pleasure in winding you up."

"Why should that bother her?" Jo asked, as though determined not to see what Sam was trying to tell her.

"Seriously? The pair of you are driving me mad! Webster knows that Hannah's in love with you and he's jealous, Jo. He's trying to drive an even bigger wedge between you than you've managed on your own. I think we need to be very careful with this one." Sam said, standing and starting to pace around the office agitatedly. "Hannah seems blind where Webster's concerned. She was singing his praises as a Dad and a friend yesterday and she completely refused to believe that he could be involved with the Dockery brothers. His interview shows that he's willing to drop her in it to save his own neck."

Jo nodded. "We need to get Hannah to make a statement so that there'll be no surprises later on."

The DI folded her arms, a plan forming in her mind. Ignoring the incredulous look on the brunette's face, she smirked. "Off you go then, DC Masters. I think she's in the soft interview room with PC Green. The sooner you get it done the better."


	8. Chapter 8

"Is this really necessary?" Hannah asked nervously as she headed to make a statement with Jo.

She knew that her question was redundant, but the idea of talking to Jo about her involvement with Jake was not something she was looking forward to. There had been a look in the older woman's eyes that Hannah couldn't put her finger on when Jo had knocked lightly on the door of the soft interview room and asked to borrow her for a moment. When Jo had explained that Jake had mentioned her in his interview and they needed to clarify their relationship, Hannah's heart had sunk and she knew that he'd told her about the night before.

"You know it is, Hannah." Jo told her, more gruffly than she'd intended. "If nothing else you need to cover your back in case Webster drops you in it."

"He wouldn't do that." The younger woman insisted, displaying the faith in her friend that Sam had described.

Opening the interview room door and ushering Hannah inside, Jo clenched her jaw. "He already has."

Hannah didn't answer. The brunette moved across to the table and sat in one of the seats, while younger woman sat opposite her. Both felt that the surface between them was a barrier that neither knew how to get past, either physically or metaphorically. As Jo clicked the tape recorder on and asked questions, Hannah told her everything. She realised that holding anything back at this stage would be career suicide and, without her job, the red-head didn't know who she'd be.

After assuring her colleague that, should the need arise, she wouldn't think twice about arresting Jake, Hannah watched as Jo turned the recorder off and turned to look at her carefully. She was astonished to see that the brunette looked upset.

"What's wrong?" She asked gently, unable to stop herself reaching out to squeeze Jo's hand over the table. Since they'd split, Hannah had tried to avoid all physical contact with the brunette, knowing she wouldn't want to let her go.

"Why did you sleep with him?"

Biting her lip Hannah leant back in the chair, her hand slipping out of Jo's. "It's complicated. Jake… he gets inside my head like no one else, not even you. He knows how to… he knows how to convince me that things are a good idea." She heard a low hiss and glanced up, seeing a frown forming on the brunette's face. "Not to do with work; whatever else he does, Jake knows how much being a copper means to me. He knows that it's what keeps a roof over our heads and he really does love the kids. He wouldn't hurt them."

"But he'd hurt you?"

"Not really. He doesn't mean it. You know what I can be like sometimes."

Jo stood up angrily, moving away and facing the wall. Hannah wasn't sure whether to go over to her, but before she made the decision, the older detective turned around. "How many women have you worked with who've said exactly the same as you've just told me?" She demanded. "How many times have you told them that they need to stop making excuses and think about themselves and their kids? Hannah you were a child when you got pregnant with Ellie. Webster was an adult. It was abuse."

"It's not like that, Jo. It wasn't like that." Hannah argued. "I rarely see Jake. Before we came back to Canley he'd just turn up sometimes and stay for a while and then leave again and we'd find out he was back in prison. Ellie adores him; she's the one who told him about us."

"He was trying to wind me up in the interview." Jo said softly with a long sigh, moving to sit in the seat beside the younger woman's.

The red-headed DC went pale, putting her head in her hands. "Shit… I knew he'd mention me and try and wind you up, but I never thought… What did he say?"

"Just that you were over your little phase."

When Hannah failed to respond to her words, Jo took that to mean that he was right; Hannah had seen their relationship as a phase and she had moved on, putting them behind her. Not willing to show how she felt about that realisation, the brunette stood up again and moved to the door. She was turning the handle when she heard the woman's voice behind her.

"You were never a phase, Jo."

When Jo didn't turn around, Hannah pushed the chair back and moved slowly towards her. Stopping a couple of steps behind the taller woman, the red-head thought about reaching out, but dismissed the idea. She let her arms drop to her sides.

"You weren't a phase; I loved you." Hannah continued, closing her eyes and pretending that she was speaking to herself to make it easier to let her feelings out. The pain in Jo's eyes while she'd been talking about Jake was more than she could bare and she knew that one of them needed to back down first. "I loved you so much that it actually hurt. I've never felt like that before. And it scared me. I was terrified that you could make me feel so vulnerable, terrified that I needed you so much. I've never needed anyone before. I ruined what we had, because I was scared that I would ruin it. That doesn't make sense, I know." She sighed and then it was her turn to move away, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "I was so convinced that I would spoil everything, convinced I'd end up hurting you and you'd end up hating me, that I did spoil it and I did hurt you and you probably hate me. Before I met you I was fine. Now I've lost you I can't cope."

Hannah didn't realise that she was crying until she felt arms wrap themselves around her waist from behind and a head rest on her shoulder. Turning, almost reluctantly in case she was imagining the contact, she found herself looking into Jo's own tear-filled eyes. Neither of them said anything. Jo wrapped her arms tightly around the shorter woman, feeling as though she would never let her go again. Hannah clung on desperately; a sense of calm settling over her for the first time in as long as she could remember.

"I miss you." Hannah mumbled into Jo's neck where her head was resting against the brunette's shoulder. "I'm sorry…"

Pulling back, Jo wiped away her tears before placing her hands gently on Hannah's face. "I'm sorry too, sweetheart. I shouldn't have left… but I did and it got harder and harder to go back. And I'm sorry about the date. I shouldn't have blurted it out like that."

"I should have known you'd have women chasing you as soon as we..." The younger woman replied, the hint of a smile tugging at her lips. Jo laughed. "I'm so sorry I slept with Jake."

"It doesn't matter. You and me, that's what matters. I just don't want it to endanger your career."

Hannah shook her head and moved back, out of the protective circle created by Jo's arms. The older woman looked confused by her reaction, frowning as Hannah hugged herself protectively.

"How can you forgive me so easily?" The red-head asked. "I must have made your life hell at the end… you can't deny I didn't."

"I can forgive you because I love you." Jo told her softly, closing the gap between them.

Noticing the disbelief on Hannah's face, she bent her head and kissed her gently. She laughed as the younger woman's arms wrapped around her at once, clinging to her desperately. As the kiss deepened, each of them pouring all of their feelings over the past months into it, Jo pulled away, resting her forehead against Hannah's.

"There's something else I have to tell you." Jo clenched her jaw at the younger red-head's words. "I… I kissed Sam."

For a moment Jo seemed to be struggling not to laugh. "But… Sam? She's like the straightest woman around."

"I know, I know…" Hannah groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "It was on Saturday… I was hammered... since you told me about your date my head was all over the place. I was crying and Sam was comforting me and… things got a bit wobbly and I kissed her."

"Did she punch you?"

"No. She… why are you laughing?"

Jo shook her head. "Because it's funny, Han. If it had been anyone else I probably would be a little more hurt, even though I don't really have a right to be. It's not like you cheated on me. But Sam? That's hilarious!"

She reached out and pulled Hannah towards her, kissing her deeply. Relieved that Jo seemed perfectly fine with the knowledge of what had happened between her and their mutual best friend, the red-head responded eagerly. It was only when Jo's hand found its way inside her shirt that she pulled away and rested her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"Can we keep this between us for a while?" She asked quietly. "I don't want to get the kids hopes up in case I mess up again and… I don't want Jake finding out yet."

"I'm not going to let you mess up, Hannah." Jo warned her seriously. "I won't let you push me away again. I promise that whatever you say and whatever you do, I'm going to stick around. But I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." She stroked one finger softly along Hannah's jaw. "Why don't you want Jake finding out?"

"I think he thinks we might get back together; me and Jake, I mean. He didn't believe that I love you… in his head I think he thought I was… I don't know… confused. Even then he tried to embarrass you or provoke you or something. If he knows we're back together… I don't want him to…"

"You don't want him to what?" Jo pressed. "You don't want him to hurt me?"

Hannah shrugged, fighting a huge internal battle. "I don't know… maybe. But I can't risk it, Jo. Being in prison this time has changed him." She moved to perch on the table and Jo followed, unwilling to break the contact between them. "I have to go and speak to Stella without him there. I need to make sure she hasn't been lying about the location or the time. The Guv'll go spare if the raid is ruined; I'm already in enough bad books."

"You think she might be lying?"

"I honestly don't know." Hannah admitted. "I'll appeal to her better nature; mention Ellie and hope she tells me the truth." Looking sideways with a small smile she met Jo's eyes. "How is my daughter, by the way?"

Jo chuckled. "I did try to get the girls and Max to phone you, Han. But they're all ridiculously stubborn and I didn't want to push them too far in case they stopped speaking to me, too."

"I believe you. I was relieved that they still felt they could talk to you; at least they had someone to look out for them."

"Stop getting soppy and go and speak to Stella." The brunette ordered, kissing the side of Hannah's head. "Be careful and make sure you're back here as soon as possible or you really will be in trouble."

Nodding, Hannah pressed a kiss to her lips and stood up. As she reached the door, she turned back and smiled. "I think you should inform Sam of recent developments or we'll both be in trouble."

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you to GirlonaBridge for reviewing! :D**_


	9. Chapter 9

Leaving the older woman to track down their friend and break the news that they had come to their senses, the red-head hurried out of the station and jumped in the pool car. She called Stella before she drove off, arranging to meet her in a pub a little way away from the Larkmead Estate. Hannah warned Stella that she needed to come on her own and it was incredibly important.

Her heart sank as she drew up in the small car park and saw Jake leaning against the wall, smoking and obviously waiting for her to arrive. Slowly, she got out of the car and locked it, taking her time before striding towards him. For some reason, she swore she could hear the hammering of her heart over the clicking of her heels on the ground. Jake had never seriously scared her before but now, after realising that maybe she didn't know him as well as she'd thought she did, she was definitely wary.

"I told Stella I needed to speak to her alone."

Jake shrugged and held out his half-smoked cigarette to her. After a moment she accepted it and took a drag before handing it back. "She's my Mum; she'll tell me anyway."

"That's not how this works." She reminded him frostily. "I need to speak to her on her own."

"As long as you promise to have a drink with me after; I think I need to apologise." When Hannah didn't respond and merely folded her arms, he reached out to her. The detective shrugged him off and started walking towards the pub door. "She told you then?"

"Jo? No; I haven't spoken to Jo this morning. Or, more accurately, she hasn't spoken to me. DC Moss told me as I was on my way over here to speak to Stel. Thanks to your little performance in the interview room I'm going to have some awkward questions to answer when I get back to the station." She snapped.

"I'm sorry… please let me buy you a drink when you're done with Mum."

Not answering, she pulled her arm out of his grasp and stalked into the pub. Buying a coke for herself and a cider for Stella, she started the conversation by talking about Ellie. Once her daughter's grandmother was lulled into a false sense of security, Hannah began questioning her about the information she'd given her about the deal.

"It's definitely 10pm on Thursday, Stel?" Hannah asked gently.

"I said, didn't I?"

The detective sighed. "I know, but I need to be sure. Stella… if I give my boss the wrong information then, after the couple of months I've had, I'll be in serious trouble. If I lose my job, me and the kids… well… I dunno what'll happen. I won't be able to help Ellie out, that's for sure."

There was a pause. "The deal's at nine, not ten."

"Thank you." Hannah said, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "Please, please don't tell anyone you've given me the proper time. No one, Stella, not even Jake."

"Why?"

Thinking quickly, she shrugged. "You know what Jake's like. One word in the wrong place and you'll both be in danger. If you keep this between us, then we can just pretend that we got lucky by being there early."

Stella glanced up and spotted her son making his way through the pub towards them. Looking meaningfully at Hannah, she nodded sharply. "Jake? What're you doing here?"

"I saw Han come in and thought we could have a drink." He told her, pulling out his wallet. "What are you having?"

"I really better go." The detective told him sharply. "I'm under enough suspicion as it is."

"Surely one won't hurt?"

"Go on, Han." Stella encouraged.

Sighing, she relented. "Fine… just the one. I'll have a coke."

Hannah drank the offering as quickly as she could without raising suspicions. She was on edge after finding out that Stella had lied about the timing of the deal and that Jake was reluctant to let her speak to his mother alone. Saying her goodbyes and sending Stella a meaningful, reassuring smile, Hannah headed out of the pub.

As she walked out into the car park, a hand closed around her wrist and pulled her around. Hannah rolled her eyes as Jake grinned at her.

"What d'you want Jake?" She asked with a sigh. "I really have to go."

"Meet me later?" He requested.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's really not a good idea." Hannah told him. "I meant what I said before. I've messed up a couple of times recently and if this raid goes wrong it's my job on the line. I just need to stay focused." She wondered whether Jake would say anything about Stella giving her the wrong time. The detective didn't doubt that he knew.

"Alright. After this is over and you're still in a job, I'll ask you again."

She exhaled sharply and nodded. "We'll see."

As she started walking towards the car, he stopped her again, holding out a wad of notes. "Here… take this. Call it child support, if you want."

"No, Jake." Hannah refused, holding up her hands and glancing around instinctively. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because thanks to you, my superiors are already suspicious and you've brought yourself to their attention. If you really want to, send it to Ellie."

Jake rolled his eyes. "This is personal, not professional, Han. It has nothing to do with your job. Take the money for the kids."

"No."

Something in his face changed and Jake grabbed hold of her roughly. "I said, take the money."

"What… Jake!" Hannah wrenched herself out of his grasp angrily. "Why are you so bothered about me taking the bloody money?"

He raised his hand and rammed his fist into the side of her face angrily. Jabbing a finger at her as Hannah stumbled slightly and raised a hand to her cheek, Jake leant forward. "If anything happens to my Mum I blame you, Hannah."

She turned as he stalked away, looking down at the notes he'd pressed into her hand. Jake ignored her shouts and Hannah only took a couple of steps after him, wary of his temper. Realising she was trembling, the detective shoved the money roughly into her pocket and got into the pool car. Glancing in the mirror, she winced as she prodded lightly at her cheekbone where Jake had hit her.

Pulling out her mobile, she phoned the DCI. "Guv… I've just spoken to my informant. The time of the deal has changed; it's at nine not ten. The location's the same; it's just the time that's altered."

"Thanks, Hannah." Jack answered in his reassuring, gravelly tone. "Right, get back here as soon as you can and talk to Sam. She's got more information that you should see."

Hanging up, the woman took a couple of deep breaths before heading back to the station. The wad of cash was burning a hole in her pocket and Hannah had no idea what to do about it. She had rarely seen Jake so angry before, but she didn't understand why her taking the money meant so much to him.

"You alright, Hannah?" Smithy asked, passing her as she entered through the front doors of the station. "What happened to you?"

Realising that he was looking at her cheek, which she assumed was already showing signs of the punch, she shrugged. "Flailing arms… nothing serious, love."

With a weak smile, she headed up the stairs to CID. Hannah spotted Jo sitting at her desk and was about to make her towards the brunette, when Stevie bounded over to her, pinching her chin and twisting her head to get a better look at her cheek.

"Ouch! Who did you piss off?"

"There was a scuffle, I got in the way." She replied with a shrug. "The guys ran off before I could grab them."

"You're losing your touch, McKay!" The young blonde called over her shoulder as she hurried away.

Sam, who had appeared just before Hannah had given her explanation, grabbed the DC's arm and steered her into the briefing room. Before the red-head could complain, her superior pointed to the board in front of them and her heart sank.

"Have you got someone tailing me?" Hannah demanded, immediately defensive as she took in the photos of her and Jake outside the pub. The realisation that they looked incredibly incriminating and she was under attack caused her to react angrily. "Sam! I thought you trusted me! I thought we were friends!"

"That's why I'm giving you the chance to explain."

"After you've spied on me?"

Sam leant on the table, her palms flat on the surface, as she glared at her DC. "No, Hannah. Grace and Kezia were tailing Webster and they were surprised when you turned up. According to them, the conversation started off amicably and you shared a cigarette. Then Webster obviously said something you didn't like and you tried to walk off. He grabbed you and said something else, before you went into the pub. Ten minutes later he followed you inside. Fifteen minutes later you emerged, followed by Webster. You talked for a couple of minutes, before he offered you a roll of cash. You looked around and refused to accept it. Webster assaulted you and walked away, leaving you in possession of the money."

"That's pretty much how it went." Hannah agreed, stubbornly. She pulled the notes out of her pocket and slammed them down on the table, turning away from Sam and folding her arms. "There; have the fucking money. I never wanted it in the first place."

"So what happened?"

"I thought you already knew."

The petite blonde sighed, fighting a losing battle to keep control of her temper. "You're not doing yourself any favours behaving like this, Hannah. Lying about how you got injured makes you look bloody bad for a start. Stop acting like I'm trying to frame you for something and tell me what happened."

"I went to meet Stella because I had a feeling she wasn't being entirely straight with me; Jo knew I was going. When I got to the pub where we'd agreed to meet, Jake was waiting for me. I told him that I needed to speak to his Mum alone. He apologised for what he said to Jo in the interview. I wasn't particularly forgiving and then I went to talk to Stella. She confirmed that she'd lied about the time and I told her not to tell anyone, including Jake, that she'd told me the truth. Jake came in and offered to buy me a drink; I said no, but Stella persuaded me to stay. I had a coke and then I left."

"Just a coke?" Sam asked meaningfully, arching an eyebrow.

"Breathalyse me if you want." Hannah retorted angrily. "Jake followed me out and asked if we could meet up later. I said no… told him some stuff about needing to stay focused on the case and needing to avoid any more suspicion after his little stunt. He offered me the money for the kids; said I could think of it as child support. I said no, but he wouldn't accept that. He got angry and smacked me. Then I phoned the Guv and came back."

"Right, thank you." Sam said in a controlled tone. "That's all I needed to know, Han."

* * *

_**A/N: Hello darlings! Thank you all for reading! If you have a moment to leave a review I would be very grateful. :)**_

_**x**_


	10. Chapter 10

"Max is staying at a mate's and I was wondering whether it's safe to come in?" Jo asked, smirking at the look of surprise on Hannah's face as she opened her front door later that evening.

"Safe in what way?"

"Are the kids in bed and are you likely to bite my head off if I annoy you?"

"Yes and no."

Jo furrowed her eyebrows as she followed Hannah into the living room. "Eh?"

The red-head laughed. "Yes they're in bed and no, I won't bite your head off." She hesitated, suddenly nervous as Jo dropped onto the sofa, looking totally at home. It had been so long since she and Jo had been in the same room like this and suddenly she wasn't sure of herself anymore. "D'you want a drink?"

"No, thanks." The brunette replied, reaching out and pulling Hannah down beside her. "And I don't think you should have one either, Han. You've been drinking too much." As she began muttering in annoyance, Jo gripped her hands tightly. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" Hannah asked urgently. "I don't think I can handle bad news…"

"It's not bad, exactly…"

The younger woman raised an eyebrow. "Jo!"

"Ellie's pregnant, Han."

Unable to believe what she was hearing, Hannah stood up. She batted Jo's hands away and went into the kitchen, grabbing her packet of cigarettes and lighter from their hiding place behind the mint plant on the windowsill and heading out of the back door. Lighting up with shaking hands, she leant against the wall for a moment, before her legs gave way and she slumped to the ground. She had thought that her daughter was clever enough to realise that, although Hannah loved them, if she had been given the chance she would have waited until her life was more settled until she had children. Ellie had always been adamant that she would never get pregnant before she had a career; if she ever did.

"Hannah?"

"Go away." She ordered blankly, raising the cigarette to her lips and taking a drag. "I mean it; get out!"

"No." Jo caught hold of Hannah's wrists as she had done inside and pulled her back to a standing position. Sensing that she might collapse again, the brunette pinned her against the wall for a moment so she could pull the cigarette from her grip, before wrapping her in a tight hug. "I promised you'd never make me walk out again and I meant it."

"Jo… how could she be so stupid!" The younger woman asked, blinking at the concerned face just inches from hers. "I've told her so many times not to end up like me. She could be so much better. She deserves a life. She shouldn't have been as stupid as me!"

The brunette cupped her face gently. "You are not stupid, Han. You're intelligent and beautiful and so, so strong. But this is Ellie's life; her choices to make. You can tell her not to do something as many times as you want, but she's just like you and if she wants to do something, she will." Noticing that her girlfriend was shivering, she gently propelled her back inside. "It's freezing out there… come on, I'll make you a drink."

As Jo busied herself in the kitchen, Hannah stared at her hands. Outside she hadn't felt the cold but now the warmth of the house hit her, she realised that she was shaking. The red-head wasn't sure whether it was the temperature or shock. The more she thought about Jo's revelation, the more it bothered her.

"Why did she tell you, not me?"

Turning to face her, the brunette smiled wryly. "She isn't really talking to you, remember? I did try, though. When she was here at Christmas I tried to make her reconsider not telling you."

"Chri– Christmas? She knew at Christmas? _You_ knew at Christmas?"

"Sweetheart…" Jo crouched in front of the chair Hannah was sitting in, placing her hands lightly on the younger woman's thighs and looking at her carefully. "Ellie's five and a half months pregnant. The baby's due at the end of June."

"Why wouldn't she tell me herself?"

"Freya said that Ellie was scared you'd disown her or something." Leaving one hand resting lightly on Hannah's leg, Jo raised the other to gently brush her girlfriend's cheek, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "She said you'd be so disappointed in her."

Looking down at her hands, Hannah sobbed. "Am I that bad a mother that…"

At once, both Jo's hands were on her face, forcing her to look up. "No, babe, no. You're a brilliant Mum. Why else would Ellie be scared of disappointing you? I bet that you weren't thinking like that when you were pregnant with her."

Hannah had to admit that she hadn't given her parents views a second thought when she'd realised she was going to have Ellie. "I need to phone her… I need to… I don't want to be a grandma at thirty-three…"

"You'll be thirty-four when the baby's born." Jo pointed out with a smile. Then she sighed. "Phone Ellie tomorrow, sweetheart. It's too late tonight. You need sleep." Sensing that Hannah was going to argue, she decided to change the subject. "I thought you'd given up the cigarettes."

The red-head sighed guilty. "I've been smoking since I was a kid, Jo… it's just… part of who I am. It's not as easy as just making up my mind to stop."

"Well you know what they say?" Jo told her, smirking mischievously. "You can take the girl out of the Larkmead, but you can't take the Larkmead out of the girl."

"Great, thanks babe." Hannah laughed weakly, punching her lightly on the shoulder. She stifled a yawn. "I think you were right; I need to get to bed."

"Is that a hint for me to leave?"

Hannah arched an eyebrow. "No. It's a hint for you to get upstairs."

x-x

Groaning the detective rolled over disentangling herself from Jo's arms as gently as she could and reaching out for her mobile. "Hannah McKay."

"Hannah?" At the panicked voice on the other end of the line, she sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and rubbing her eyes to remove the last traces of sleep. "It's me… Stella… I... I'm scared."

"Stella? Where are you? What's happened?"

"I'm at home… you need to come, Hannah… There's someone…"

There was a shattering sound and the line went dead. Panicking, Hannah dropped her mobile and started pulling on clothes quickly. Once she was fully dressed, the red-head leant down and shook Jo awake as gently as she could in the circumstances. It took a couple of moments for the older woman to realise what the look on her girlfriend's face meant and the lazy grin vanished at once.

"What's going on?"

"Stella just phoned me. She's terrified; I have to get over there."

"Han… it's four in the morning."

Nodding, Hannah glanced at her watch as though she needed to confirm the time. "I know, I know… but she's not any ordinary informant; she's Ellie's Nan… I can't just ignore her."

"D'you want me to come with you?" Jo offered.

"I'd love you to, but you need to stay with the kids." Leaning down, Hannah kissed her softly. "If I'm not back before you leave I'll see you at the station, OK?"

Reluctantly Jo nodded and watched as Hannah vanished into the dark hallway, closing the door behind her. In the near silence, the brunette heard the front door close with a soft click, before Hannah's car engine kicked into life and she drove away.

Glancing down at the dashboard where a light was flashing, Hannah swore as she realised that she needed to stop for petrol if she had any hope of making it to the Estate without breaking down. Willing the pump to hurry up, she impatiently topped up her petrol tank and paid, rolling her eyes at the night attendant who seemed to be deliberately slow. She jumped back in her car and made her way as quickly as possible towards the Larkmead.

"Fuck's sake!" Hannah almost screamed in frustration as, two seconds after turning onto the Estate, she found the road blocked by a white van parked directly across the road.

With the building not even in sight, the detective parked up and headed towards Stella's flat on foot. It had been over forty minutes since Stella had phoned her and Hannah had the odd feeling that she was running out of time. As she got closer, she broke into a run, throwing herself around the corners of the staircase and skidding to a halt outside the woman's door which was already ajar. Cautiously, she pushed it open, poking her head inside and looking for any dangers.

"Stella?" She hissed, as loudly as she dared.

Realising that she was shaking, Hannah mentally reprimanded herself; she was a police officer and someone could be badly injured. Now was not the time to worry about her own safety. Pulling herself together, the young woman made her way into the flat, checking the rooms she passed as she headed along the hallway.

In the living room she spotted a figure lying motionless on the ground. Dropping to her knees beside the older woman, Hannah quickly assessed Stella's injuries, feeling for a pulse. Her heart almost stopped as she realised there wasn't one. Leaning down, she tried to listen for breathing, to feel Stella's breath on her cheek, but there was nothing.

"Stel? Stella, come on! Don't do this to me… wake up, come on." Hannah implored her, beginning attempts to revive the woman knowing, deep down, that it was useless. "You're gonna be a great-nan… Ellie's having a baby… come on, Stella!"

Slumping down beside the woman's body, Hannah put her head in her hands. An odd numbness spread through her and she wasn't sure what to do. She'd seen bodies with injuries a hundred times worse than Stella's plenty of times before and they never normally affected her at all. Jo had often remarked that she had a problem, because of the way she seemed unaffected by the corpses they were called to deal with. But discovering the badly beaten body of someone she knew so well, not long after receiving a phone call from the distressed woman, had completely knocked Hannah sideways.

Hannah wasn't sure whether minutes or hours had passed before she heard voices and turned her head away from the body to see what was happening. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Hannah?"

"Sally… Sarge?"


	11. Chapter 11

Jo walked into CID, sipping from her coffee cup and dropping her jacket onto her desk. Her girlfriend hadn't turned up at the house, so she had sorted the children out and dropped them off on her way into work. Theo had narrowed his eyes suspiciously when, instead of his mother, the brunette had appeared in his bedroom to threaten him into getting ready for school, but the girls had obviously thought nothing of it.

Instinctively the brunette DC's eyes flickered towards Hannah's desk and, seeing that it was empty and there was no sign that she had arrived yet, she pulled out her mobile. The call went straight to Hannah's answerphone message and Jo frowned, instantly concerned. Before she could do anything about it, however, Sam appeared and beckoned her over to her office.

"Sam?"

"Hannah's in custody." The petite blonde informed her; her face and tone completely devoid of emotion.

Jo felt her knees buckle and at once Sam's arms were around her, guiding her gently into the chair in front of her desk. "What? Why?"

"Stella Webster was found battered to death in her flat in Atwell House on the Larkmead Estate at five o'clock this morning." The DI explained, reverting to her most professional to prevent her personal feelings taking over. "Uniform received an anonymous call to say there was a disturbance and when they arrived they discovered Hannah covered in blood beside the body. She was in shock, but Sergeant Stone and PC Armstrong had no choice but to bring her in."

"Stella phoned her at about four demanding she came over. Hannah said she sounded terrified."

"And Hannah left straight away?"

Jo nodded. "Yeah, she did."

"Well Uniform didn't turn up until just after five." Sam reminded her, folding her arms. "So what happened in that hour and why didn't Hannah call it in?"

"I don't know!" The brunette insisted, although she knew her friend hadn't been insinuating anything different. "But you know Hannah, Sam. She wouldn't… couldn't… kill anyone."

"But she has got a temper. I've spoken to Eddie at the scene and he said that Stella was battered with a blunt object. They've found a possible weapon covered in fingerprints; a large vase. Is there anything that could have caused Han to lose it with Stella?"

Horrified that their friend seemed to have decided that Hannah had killed someone, Jo blinked at her, open-mouthed. "Sam? Hannah would never…"

"Just think, Jo. If we're going to prove she's innocent we need to know what we're dealing with so there are no surprises."

"I told her about Ellie last night."

Sam nodded, knowing what the brunette meant. Ellie had told Abi about the baby and the younger Nixon had told her mother. "How did she take it?"

Jo arched an eyebrow. "How d'you think?" She sighed. "Stormed out, had a cigarette, told me to get out."

"Did you?"

"No… not this time, not again." The brunette DC told her firmly. "She calmed down quickly and she was fine when she went to sleep. She woke me up after Stella rang and she was really worried. I offered to go with her, but I had to stay with the kids. Hannah was genuinely concerned about Stella… for Ellie's sake, more than anything. She would never do this." Jo had stood up half way through and was pacing around the office, unable to settle. "Who's doing her interview? Has she been charged or just cautioned?"

"You're not going anywhere near, Jo." Sam warned. "She's not been charged with anything, yet."

"Yet?"

Sam sighed. "Yes, yet. The DCI doesn't want me involved either, darling. Stuart and Kezia are going to interview Hannah and get her side of the story."

x-x

"So Stella Webster rang you at approximately four am?" Stuart asked once Hannah had given the two detectives her version of that morning's events.

She sighed deeply. "Yes, I told you. You can check my call history if you want; although you probably already have."

"Why did you park so far away from Atwell House?" Kezia asked. "Your car was on Ottaker Road leading into the Estate. That's the opposite side of the Larkmead; it's a… what... ten minute walk from the block where Stella lived?"

"That's the quickest route onto the Estate from my house. I parked there because there was a white van blocking the road and I just needed to get to Stella to make sure she was OK. I parked up and basically ran to the flat."

"And when you got to the flat…"

Hannah leant back in her chair and ran her hands distractedly through her hair. "I've told you all this, Stu! The door was open, but there were no signs of forced entry. There was no one else in the flat, but Stella was lying on the floor. I tried to resuscitate her, but she was already dead. There was nothing I could do."

As tears appeared in her eyes, something that made both her colleagues uncomfortable, there was a knock on the door and Kezia left the room for a couple of moments, returning with a sheet of paper in her hand. Her expression was grave and she sighed as she settled herself back in her seat. For a moment, she just watched Hannah, both her hands on the table as though she was steadying herself before speaking.

"The finger prints on the murder weapon were yours, Hannah." Kezia said at last. Both Hannah and Stuart looked surprised by her words.

"Wh– What?" The red-head breathed, leaning forward and looking between her colleagues with wide, tear-filled eyes. "What was the weapon? I swear I don't know…"

"A large vase."

Smiling with relief that she could explain how her finger prints were on it, Hannah leant back again. "When I went round to Stella's flat on Monday to ask about the Dockery case I picked up the vase to move it off the table. You can ask Jake if you don't believe me; he watched me do it."

The relief she felt was reflected back at her from the two detectives across the table. Still, though, there was something that needed clearing up. Stuart looked at her curiously. "Why didn't you phone for an ambulance?"

"I honestly don't know." Hannah admitted. "I was numb… I just kept wondering how I was going to tell Jake and Ellie that she was dead… Then Callum and Sally arrived and it was too late to do anything."

"Do you know where Jake might be?"

She shrugged. "No idea. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms the last time I saw him and, to be perfectly honest, I think I've come to my senses."

"Meaning?"

"I've been making excuses for Jake forever. He's not the same guy I loved. Yesterday… he really scared me." Taking a breath, Hannah changed tack quickly. "Have you tracked down whoever made the anonymous phone call yet? They clearly know more about this than I do. What time was the call made?"

"Twenty-five to five."

Rubbing her forehead, Hannah smiled slowly. "I wasn't there then; I wasn't even on the Estate. I left the car on Ottaker Road at twenty to."

"Did anyone see you?"

"No… no." She sighed, feeling as though her hopes were slipping away again. "Although I'll be on the petrol station CCTV at... half past, maybe?"

"Tony and Ben are looking at it now." Stuart assured her.

Hannah rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Look… Stu, Kez… can I go now? Please? I haven't been charged and I've told you everything I know. I need to talk to my daughter and I need… I need Jo."

Kezia nodded and terminated the interview. As the trio stood up she smiled weakly at the older woman, rubbing her arm sympathetically. "I think Jo fetched you some clothes."

"Great…" Hannah smiled, plucking at the suit she'd been given when her clothes had been taken away to forensics. She looked at them carefully, trying to read their expressions. "How bad is this looking for me?"

"Well…" Stuart rubbed his jaw nervously. "So far you're the only suspect, Han, so it's not looking great."

"I didn't kill her."

"We believe you." Kezia assured her quickly.

She opened the interview room door and ushered the younger woman out. As soon as Hannah walked into the corridor, she found herself being pulled into a tight embrace. Clinging onto Jo, she allowed herself to be led through the corridors and up to CID, where she was taken straight to the DI's office. Sam gave her a quick hug, before leaving so that Hannah could change out of the suit and into the clothes Jo had fetched from home.

When the blonde DI returned, she brought Stevie and Kezia with her. Both women gave their friend a hug, before finding perches around the office to listen as they began to discuss the investigation. While it wasn't strictly professional, none of them believed that Hannah was responsible for Stella's death and, as Sam and Jo had been banned from the case, this was the only way they knew what was going on.

"Is it possible the Dockery brothers or their associates could have found out that Stella told you about the deal?" Kezia asked quickly.

Hannah shrugged. "It's possible, but… Why would Stella let them in at four in the morning? Whoever killed her… she must have let them in; there was no sign of forced entry. But she was scared… none of this makes any sense!"

"Calm down." Jo murmured, perching on the arm of Hannah's chair and rubbing her back soothingly.

She leant over and pressed a kiss to the top of her girlfriend's head. At once the fiery red-head quietened, glancing up at the older woman for reassurance. The other women in the room exchanged a look; surprised at how quickly Hannah had responded to Jo's words and actions.

"You said Stella must have let her killer in…" Stevie said thoughtfully after a moment. "What if they let themselves in? What if Stella's killer had a key?"

"I haven't got a key. The only people I know for sure have are Stella and Jake."

Sam and Jo exchanged a look. "Do you think Jake is capable of–"

"No!" Hannah exclaimed before the blonde had even finished her question. "He wouldn't."

"Han, you were convinced he'd never hurt you." Jo replied, stroking her bruised cheek gently. "But, whatever you say, he abused you when you were a child and he did this."

Looking away, Hannah closed her eyes. "That was… I… he…"

Jo moved to kneel in front of her, forgetting all about the other three women in the office. She put her hands on the red-head's face and forced her to look up. "Don't you dare say it was your fault or you provoked him." She ordered angrily. "Don't you even dare, Hannah. You drive me crazy on an hourly basis but I would never, never hurt you. Jake Webster does not deserve your loyalty."


	12. Chapter 12

"Please, Sam." Hannah begged as the blonde DI tried to send her home. "Can't I just do paperwork or something? I need to stay busy."

Glancing at Jo, Sam sighed. "Alright, but I want you to stay away from the Webster case. Jo and I have already been warned to do the same."

"Why don't you phone Ellie?" Jo suggested gently. "You need to tell her about her Nan."

"Can't you do it, Jo? Please… She'll take it better from you."

Knowing that Hannah was really in no fit state to speak to her daughter, but that Ellie needed to know, Jo sighed and nodded. With a weak smile and a nod, Sam signalled that Jo could use her office and the brunette headed away, leaving her girlfriend to familiarise herself with a case that had been pushed to one side at the news of Stella's murder.

Using the phone on Sam's desk, Jo dialled Ellie's mobile and waited. "Ellie, it's Jo. Can you talk?"

"Course." The teenager agreed, sounding so pleased to hear her voice that Jo felt irrationally guilty. "What's up?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm in my room with Freya… she says hi, by the way."

Relieved that the pregnant teenager wasn't on her own, Jo wondered how best to word what needed to be said. It wasn't really the kind of thing she would want to tell Ellie over the phone but, with the young woman being four hours away at University in Cardiff, she didn't have much choice.

"Jo?"

"Sorry, El…" The brunette sighed. "Listen, I don't know how to tell you this…"

"Is it Mum? Are the kids OK?"

"Your Nan is dead." Jo blurted. Hearing a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, she tried to explain. "Stella phoned your Mum this morning, saying she was scared and there was someone there. When Hannah arrived Stella was dead."

"But… how? Who?"

"We don't know, sweetheart. But…" She hesitated. "Is there any chance you and Freya can come home?"

"I… I don't know… I guess we'll have to… for the funeral…"

Jo sighed and rubbed a hand over her face wearily. "Your Mum could really do with you both right now."

"Why?" Ellie demanded, her tone immediately suspicious. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Your Mum's been questioned about Stella's death."

"You what?"

"When Uniform arrived she was in shock, kneeling beside the body and covered in blood. Forensics confirmed that the fingerprints on the murder weapon were hers and there was no sign of anyone else having been there."

"Should you be telling us this, Jo?" Freya's voice sounded distant and the brunette guessed she'd been put on speakerphone.

"Probably not." She admitted quickly. "But I thought you'd want to know."

"We do."

Jo sighed and leant her head back against the chair, closing her eyes. "Can you come home?"

"Will Mum want us?"

"Don't be stupid, Ellie." The brunette snapped. "Of course she wants you here. How soon can you leave?"

It was Freya who answered her question, displaying the calm rationality that Jo had come to expect from the young blonde. "We can go into Uni this afternoon and speak to our Tutors. If we explain the circumstances we should be able to get some time off, probably not long, but long enough. I'll book train tickets for later this afternoon… there's a train at half four that gets into Paddington two hours later."

"I'll come and pick you up from the station." Jo promised, glad that Hannah's sister seemed capable of thinking straight.

They ended the call and Jo headed out into the main office in search of her girlfriend and Sam. The blonde DI was perched on Stevie's desk, deep in conversation with the younger woman, but Hannah was nowhere to be seen. Joining them quickly, Jo learnt that Hannah had been called in to see the DCI.

"What's happened?" Jo asked, instantly on her guard.

"MIT want Hannah kept in custody." Sam informed her, passing on what Stevie had told her. "She's their only suspect and the evidence is against her. They've agreed to let her stay here, rather than going to Barton Street, though."

All three women glanced up as Jack walked into the room, looking around until he spotted them. As he made his way over to them, they tensed at the expression on his face.

"Guv?"

"Hannah's in with DI Matheson from MIT." He said, looking between the women. "Stevie, I want you and Terry to get down to the Larkmead Estate and see if you can find anyone who might have seen Hannah or what happened in Mrs Webster's flat. Sam, Jo… I need you to go down to St Hugh's and get a statement from the victim in the Francis Street hit and run."

"But Guv…" Sam started.

Jack cut her off, holding up a hand to stop her arguing. "I told you I don't want either of you anywhere near this case. If Hannah's going to stand the best chance of this going away, we need to play it strictly by the book. You two cannot be involved without compromising the case."

"Yes, Guv." The detectives reluctantly agreed at the same time.

"Good. Now get down the hospital and I'll inform you personally if there's any news."

x-x

Hannah went through the interview with DI Matheson on eggshells. She had already answered all of the questions that the man threw at her at least once, some of them twice. The red-headed DC knew that she had to keep her temper under control, knowing that the MIT detective was trying to provoke a reaction from her. Hannah was well aware that she was the only suspect and her continual assertions that she was innocent were making their apparently straight-forward case difficult to wrap up.

She pointed out that she had no motive; she had no reason to want Stella dead. In fact, she had more reason than most to want her alive. DI Matheson had tried to make out that they could have argued about Stella lying about the drug deal to begin with and that Hannah could have lost her temper and lashed out. He mentioned that she had lost her temper on multiple occasions at work and the DC was quick to point out that, even at her most furious, she had never been violent.

When he realised that he was going to get nothing more out of the woman, Matheson suspended the interview and motioned for Hannah to be processed and held in custody. Nikki Wright sent her a sympathetic smile as she filled in the paperwork at the custody desk and gave her arm a quick squeeze as she showed her into her cell. Sitting heavily on the hard bunk, Hannah closed her eyes and leant back, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Being on the other side of the cell door was an eye-opener to the young woman. Although she was a police officer herself and so, no doubt was receiving preferential treatment, being in the cell was driving her crazy. It was small and confined and, for the woman whose thoughts rarely slowed to the equivalent of a jog, it was mind-numbing. She sat and stared blankly ahead of her for an indeterminable amount of time. Hannah wasn't stupid enough to think that the evidence against her wasn't enough for them to charge her with Stella's murder; she had charged people with less.

She was lying on the bench staring at the ceiling when she heard a click and the cell door swung open. "Hannah?"

"Nikki? What's happening?"

"You're being released, love." The blonde Sergeant told her, smiling broadly.

Hannah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"

"Well, you can stay in here if you want?" Nikki laughed as the younger woman scrambled to her feet at the suggestion. "Thanks to Terry and Stevie, a witness has come forward to say they saw you running into Atwell House just before ten to five and, seeing as the anonymous call was made fifteen minutes earlier..."

"I owe whoever made the statement a drink."

Nikki laughed again. "Come on; let's get you out of here."

As they walked from the cell and the Sergeant started on the paperwork so Hannah could be released, the Detective Constable found herself thinking about how close she'd come to being found guilty. The realisation that she wasn't sure whether she'd miss her job or her family more made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, but she knew that this was what she'd needed to bridge the gap between her and Max and the girls.

"What time is it, Nikki?"

The Sergeant looked at her watch. "Quarter to seven. Why?"

"I feel like I've been in that cell for a week, not just eight hours." Hannah admitted.

"Get yourself home, love. I bet your family will be pleased to see you."

"I wish I was as sure."

"Hey, DC McKay?" The husky voice of Inspector Gold called.

The detective turned slowly, taking a breath and rubbing a hand over her eyes. From the tone and the use of her rank, she was expecting a telling off. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"I'm glad all this is sorted, Hannah; fag breaks wouldn't have been the same without our little chats. Where else would I get all my CID gossip?"

Hannah smiled. "You're right, they wouldn't be the same. I'm sure you'd find another source of information, though."

"I doubt it. Usual time and place tomorrow?"

"Try stopping me." The red-head laughed.

Saying goodnight, Hannah headed wearily towards CID. Knowing that she had so much support in the station made her heart feel much lighter. She was hoping, rather than believing, that Jo or the others were still here. It was almost two hours after the end of their shift and the red-head wouldn't have blamed them for leaving. When she pushed open the double doors, however, she saw most of the team still sitting at their desks.

"Hey!" Stevie called, spotting her first and dashing across the office to give her a hug.

"I hear I've got you and Terry to thank for my freedom?" Hannah told her, returning the hug before moving to give the male DC a kiss on the cheek to display her gratitude.

"Don't mention it, Han." He replied with a grin.

Glancing around, the red-head frowned. "Where's Jo?"

"She had to pop out for a bit." Sam told her vaguely. "She'll be back soon, though. You should get an early night. After today you must be tired and you need to be at your best in Court tomorrow. You've got to give evidence at the Hamilton rape trail, remember."

The younger woman nodded, slightly confused and hurt that Jo wasn't there. She listened as her colleagues discussed where the investigation might go next. With no leads and no evidence that pointed anywhere but at her, Hannah wasn't sure how they could possibly find Stella's killer. It was obvious that Jack wouldn't let her anywhere near the case, although she thought that maybe she was the one who'd be able to make any connections that needed making; after all, she knew the victim better than the rest of them put together.

"Mum?" Ellie's voice greeted Hannah's ears, along with the banging of the double doors. "What the fuck have you been doing?" The room went quiet as the young red-head strode towards her mother furiously. "I leave you alone for five minutes and you get yourself accused of murdering my Nan?"

"Yeah?" Hannah snapped, putting her hands on her hips, completely forgetting that they were in a room full of people she worked with. "And you go off to University and get knocked up. You didn't even have the guts to tell me yourself!"

They glared at each other for a couple of seconds, before Ellie burst into tears. Hannah gathered her up in a tight hug as Jo, Freya and Max appeared in the doorway to CID. Wordlessly, the brunette gathered up her family, nodded to Sam and ushered them away out of the station.

* * *

_**A/N: Hi guys! I'm posting this early, because of the threat of the World ending and all that... and also I'm going out with my mates in a bit. Haha!**_

**_Thank you all for reading, as always. Fancy reviewing? Even if it's just a sentence or even a couple of words it would make me very happy!_**

**_x_**


	13. Chapter 13

When they reached the house, Jo paused on the doorstep, turning to Hannah and Ellie, her eyebrows raised. "No shouting." She warned. "The kids don't need to hear arguments."

"Alright, Mum…" Ellie muttered, heading into the house sulkily. After they'd left the station, the teenager had recovered from her tears and returned to being angry with her mother.

As Freya and Max filed past them, Hannah turned to Jo. "Have you told them that we're back together?"

"I thought you might want to do that."

Hannah sighed. "I'm expecting you to be asked if you're mad. Or something along those lines, anyway."

Jo grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

With another sigh, the red-head nodded and headed inside. She went straight into the kitchen and filled the kettle, feeling the need to do something normal. Glancing at the clock, she realised that none of them had eaten and started hunting in the fridge for something simple. Hannah was half way through making a stir-fry when Jo came looking for her.

"What are you doing?"

"Dinner." Hannah replied, shooting her a strange look. "What d'you think? No one's eaten, have they?"

"I'll do this." The older woman replied firmly. "You need to go in there and talk to the kids."

Nodding, Hannah reluctantly handed over the spatula she had been using and walked slowly towards the living room. Jo caught her as she passed, squeezing her arm and smiling reassuringly. Taking a deep breath, the red-head walked through the door, pushing it closed behind her. She smiled at Theo, who glanced up and grinned, obviously delighted that they were all back together.

"… and then Mum took us bowling. I had an ice-cream sundae." Molly was chattering away to the teenagers, obviously filling them in on the important things that had been going on while they'd been away.

Hannah frowned slightly. "I never took you bowling."

"Not you, silly." The four-year-old girl giggled. "Mum!"

"She means Jo." Theo told his mother in a loud stage whisper. "We still call her Mum, but we didn't tell you in case you got upset."

"Why would I get upset?"

"Because she's not your girlfriend anymore."

Hannah smiled and sat on the sofa beside her sister, who was hugging sixteen-month-old Caitlin to her. The red-head motioned for her younger children to join her, laughing as both Molly and Theo took the opportunity to leap on her. Max perched on the coffee table, instinctively knowing that she was about to tell them something important. Only Ellie kept her distance, settling herself in the armchair in the corner, one hand resting on her rounded stomach.

"I'm not upset that you call Jo Mum." Hannah told her son gently. "I'm glad you want to."

"Yeah, well, some of us actually care enough about her to consider her feelings." Ellie snapped.

Her mother nodded. "I deserve that and worse. But–"

"Why is Jo even here?" The teenager continued. "I thought she was smart, but obviously she's stupid enough to let you wrap her around your little finger."

"Jo is here, babe, because–"

"Don't give me some rubbish about still being friends even though you broke her heart and made her life hell, like you do with everyone."

Almost screaming with frustration that her daughter wouldn't let her explain, Hannah took a deep breath. "No, she's not here because we're friends. She's here because we're back together. I love Jo and today's made me realise what I can't bear to lose… you lot, Jo and my job. But mainly you lot and Jo. I'm going to make sure I don't mess things up and Jo's going to help me."

"I'm happy for you; you and Jo." Freya told her sister sincerely, speaking before Ellie could open her mouth.

Max nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "Yeah, me too."

To Hannah's relief, before Ellie could say anything Jo opened the door to the kitchen and announced that dinner was ready. The pregnant teenager stood up wordlessly and walked into the kitchen. From the wary expression on Jo's face, the red-head could tell that her girlfriend was wondering whether the announcement had been made and how it had gone down, especially after witnessing Ellie's pronounced silence.

"Thanks, Jo." Freya murmured as she passed, balancing Caitlin on her hip. There was more meaning to her words than simply thanking the woman for cooking a meal.

"Mum?" Theo asked Jo as he followed the others into the kitchen. "Are you staying here tonight?"

Hannah answered for the brunette, ruffling her son's hair and propelling him towards the table. "Yes she is. Now hurry up and eat your dinner so we can pack you off to bed."

x-x

When Ellie and Freya were installed in the spare bedroom, now that Molly and Caitlin had taken over their old room, and Theo and Max were in their own bedrooms, Jo and Hannah were left alone downstairs. Handing her girlfriend a glass of wine, Hannah settled herself on the sofa with a glass of juice and curled into Jo's side, relaxing when the brunette's arm wound around her and held her tightly. She closed her eyes as Jo's fingers tangled themselves in her hair.

"Why did you lie when Max asked you about your face?" Jo asked softly, thinking back to Hannah's explanation about the bruise.

"I'd rather they thought I got punched by a suspect than Ellie's Dad." She replied softly, the feeling of Jo's fingers on her scalp making her sigh with contentment. "Why didn't you tell me that the kids still call you Mum?"

"I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it."

"Oh…"

"And?" Jo pulled her hand away from Hannah's hair, causing the younger woman to pout slightly. "How do you feel about it?"

Hannah reached up and placed a hand on the back of the brunette's head, pulling her down so she could kiss her. Jo's arms went round the younger woman's waist, holding her tightly against her and deepening the kiss. When they broke apart breathlessly, Hannah smiled.

"Does that answer your question?"

Jo smirked and leaned in to kiss her again, when her mobile rang. Both women jumped at the shrill sound, groaning as the brunette reached past her girlfriend to retrieve the device.

"Jo, it's Jack."

"This isn't a great time, Guv." Jo said, trying to swat Hannah away as the red-head trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck. "Huh?"

"I said that I need you to come in." The DCI repeated. "I'm sorry, but there's been an armed robbery at the jewellers on Esmond Street and we're short of bodies here tonight."

With a sigh, Jo disentangled herself from Hannah and stood up. "I'll be right in."

"You are kidding?" Hannah complained. "Why you?"

Jo shrugged. "I don't know, babe, but I'll be home as soon as possible."


	14. Chapter 14

As Jo strode into CID, not in the best of moods, she could immediately tell that something was wrong. Grace, Mickey and Jack were looking at her warily, as though she was a time bomb about to explode. Waiting for them to make the first move, Jo walked to her desk and turned on her computer. She was aware that they were watching her, but only glanced up when the DCI approached her desk.

"Jo."

"Guv."

There was a long pause.

"So… what's the deal with this armed robbery case I've been dragged in to help with?" Jo asked, leaning back in her chair and looking carefully at the DCI.

"Two masked men armed with sworn-off shotguns burst into the jewellers on Esmond Street just after nine. They got away with nearly twenty grand's worth of jewellery."

"Any CCTV? Anything on the vehicle they used?"

Jack nodded. "A white van registered to Nicky Dockery. We've checked the CCTV in the area and it seems that the driver was a woman. We can't get a clear view of her face, but we've recovered the van and forensics are looking at it now. CCTV from the shop clearly shows Nicky Dockery and someone we suspect to be Jake Webster."

"Right… So we need to pull Dockery and Webster in for questioning then, Guv." Jo suggested, her statement coming out as more of a question than a certainty. She was sure that there was something she wasn't being told.

Nodding, Jack looked away as the brunette sent him a curious frown. She grabbed her jacket and headed out of CID with Mickey in tow. The two DCs made their way to the Larkmead Estate, banging on the younger Dockery brother's door and returning him to the station. He was the typical mouthy twenty-something-year-old wannabe hard man; full of attitude and bravado. Instantly Jo felt her hackles rise as he looked her up and down before making several completely inappropriate comments. She verbally slapped him down quicker than he could form a response, leaving him to be processed by the custody sergeant.

The interview itself was as frustrating as Nicky Dockery. His answers to their questions were mostly made up of 'no comment' and 'I don't know'. Suspending the interview after half an hour, Jo and Mickey made their way back up to CID to find out whether there was any new information that might help them draw a confession from the man. Forensics had got back to them and Jack sent the two DCs down to the scene to check things out for themselves.

"What have you got for us, Eddie?"

"For you, Jo, anything you want." The Crime Scene Examiner joked, earning himself a light swat on the arm.

He proceeded to talk them through the scene, overexcited about his findings as always. He pointed out several sets of fingerprints that had already been sent back to the lab for analysis, before moving round to the driver's side of the cab to show them something.

"A jumper?" Mickey asked, looking a little confused at the pride the CSE showed as he pointed to a pile of black fabric on the seat where the driver would have sat.

"A cardigan." Eddie clarified. "But that's not the best part." He picked up a clear plastic bag from beside the item of clothing and held it out so that they could see what was inside. "We found these hairs on the cardigan and they undoubtedly belong to whoever was wearing it. Forensics should be able to give us something, anyway."

Jo frowned as she looked at the contents of the evidence bag. Several long, red hairs were coiled inside it and the brunette's heart sank slightly. "Let me see that…"

"With pleasure." Eddie agreed, handing her the cardigan.

Examining it quickly, Jo confused both men by raising it to her face and smelling it. "This is mine."

"Yours?" Mickey frowned. "How can you tell? It just looks like any other cardigan to me."

"This rip here happened when I got caught on a nail during an obbo and these buttons are missing because Hannah… well, they're missing." She replied, refusing to meet their eyes. "Besides, it smells of Han's perfume. I'm willing to bet that the hairs you found on it are hers."

"So how did it get into Dockery's van?" Mickey mused, rubbing his chin and looking around.

Leaving Eddie to continue his examinations, the detectives headed back to the station, each mulling over the possible reasons why Jo's cardigan might be in the van's cab.

"Do you not think something strange is going on here?" Jo muttered as Mickey parked the pool car outside Sun Hill and they got out. "First an anonymous phone call means that Hannah is found at Stella Webster's flat with her body and then my cardigan is found in the getaway vehicle used in an armed robbery. Both cases have connection to the Dockery brothers."

"Are you thinking that someone might be trying to discredit you and Hannah?"

"I don't know… I haven't worn that cardigan in months, but she has. Stella Webster was Han's informant. Maybe this is about the drugs deal between the Dockerys and the others." Jo sighed. "Or maybe it's just a complete coincidence. Either way, Hannah had nothing to do with that robbery because we were both at home."

x-x

"Jo? We've got the forensics back from the van." Mickey called, heading into CID and making his way over to the brunette's desk. "You were right, the hairs on the cardigan belonged to Hannah, but the finger prints belong to Jake Webster, Nicky Dockery and..." He paused until Jo arched an eyebrow. "Ellie McKay."

"Ellie?" Jo gasped. "We need to bring Jake in."

"We don't know where he is." The young man told her with a shrug. "Uniform went looking after Stella's death, but no one's seen him since last night."

"Well that makes things more difficult."

Mickey folded his arms and looked slightly awkward. "Hannah wouldn't have any idea of where he might be, would she?"

Jo snorted. "No way."

"A description has been circulated and all units have been told to bring Webster in if they see him. Hopefully we'll find him soon and manage to get some answers from him." Grace told them, leaning against Jo's desk and folding her arms.

"What are we doing about Dockery?" Mickey asked. "If we charge him then that'll screw up the raid on the warehouse. His brother won't go ahead with the deal if he thinks we're watching them."

"It's not a speeding ticket though, is it?" Jo pointed out. "Dockery robbed a jewellers with a shot gun."

"It's the Guv's call." Grace shrugged. "We leave it to him to decide. Whatever happens, Dockery's going to end up behind bars, though."

The brunette DC shook her head. "Unless this spooks them into calling the deal off. If we don't catch them in the act we don't have enough evidence to pin anything on them. Can we get Dockery to name Webster as the second man in the robbery?"

"You know as well as I do, Jo, he's not saying anything. We still don't know who the woman in the van was, either... unless it was Ellie." Mickey replied.

"No... it wouldn't be Ellie. I don't know why her prints were on the van, but she can't be involved. There's something really not right about this." Jo muttered, standing up and moving to the board covered in information on the drugs raid. "Everything's too… interlinked." She sighed distractedly as her mobile began to buzz. "DC Masters."

"Ellie's gone." Hannah's voice came through the phone, sounding confused and slightly dazed.

Jo instantly put the phone on speaker, instinctively knowing something was wrong. "What's happened?"

"I… I don't know. Freya said she woke up and Ellie wasn't there, but her mobile is. She assumed she was downstairs because she's not sleeping brilliantly at the moment, but she couldn't find her so she came to wake me." Hannah said slowly. "She's not here."

"Is she in the garden?"

"At three in the morning in March?"

"I'm just asking, Han, calm down." Jo told her. Pre-empting the rant that she knew would be sent her way at that request, the brunette glanced at her colleagues. "Could Ellie have gone to see Jake?"

"What? Jake? I… maybe?"

"Can Ellie drive?" Grace asked, causing Jo to turn and glare at her.

"No? She was never interested in learning." Hannah replied, obviously confused by the question. "Why?"

"Because we're looking for a female getaway driver in an armed robbery that Webster was involved in." DC Dasari told her bluntly.

"So you automatically thought of my daughter?" The red-head snapped. "Have you got any evidence or is this just a wild stab in the dark?"

"Ellie's prints, Jo's cardigan and your DNA were found in the vehicle."

Hannah breathed out heavily. "What? How? Actually, I don't care about that. Ellie is missing."

"I'll send Uniform round, sweetheart." Jo assured her, preventing Grace from saying anything to wind her girlfriend up further. "Just sit tight and wait."

As soon as the call ended, Jo stalked to her desk and grabbed her jacket. She headed out of CID, ignoring the calls of her colleagues and jumping into a pool car. Following a hunch, she drove towards the address on the Larkmead Estate where Jake lived with his mother. Jo parked up outside Atwell House and took the stairs two at a time, before she ducked under the police tape across the door and looked around.

"Ellie…" She sighed, relieved to see the teenager sitting on the sofa, staring at a patch of darker carpet in the middle of the living room floor. "What are you doing here?"

"How did you know I was gone?"

"Your Mum's panicking. I was called into work earlier and she phoned me."

"Why do you put up with her?" The teenager asked, not lifting her gaze from the blood stained carpet. "She's a fucking nightmare."

"She is." Jo agreed with a smile, moving to sit beside Ellie. "But I love her."

"Why?"

The detective laughed softly. "Lots of reasons; some I'm sure you don't want to know." She paused, before reaching out and squeezing the teenager's hand. "You used to be so close… what happened? This isn't just about me, is it?"

"It's Dad."

"Jake?" Instantly Jo's mind snapped back to detective mode. "What about him?"

"I love him… he's my Dad. But…" She trailed off for a moment. "He's bad for Mum; really bad. Whenever he comes back into her life things go wrong. She was lying about how she got that bruise on her face, wasn't she? Was it him?"

"Yeah… she refused to take money off him outside a pub and he smacked her." Jo replied. "He was under surveillance, so we could have charged him, but your Mum wouldn't."

"Doesn't surprise me… she's blind to his faults."

Jo chuckled. "Sam and I told her the same thing. Although she has admitted that he's changed during his last stint in prison."

"Don't be fooled by that." Ellie told her with a sigh. "He's been pushing her around and controlling her for as long as I can remember; he's given her bruises, cracked ribs, even a fractured cheek bone. She hasn't… Has she… Has she slept with him?"

Not feeling the need to lie to the teenager, Jo nodded. "Yeah, she did; a couple of days ago."

Ellie was surprised by how calm Jo was. "And you're alright with that?"

"Hannah was drunk and upset and lonely. It didn't mean anything and it was partly my fault. I had a date on Friday and the way I told her wasn't exactly tactful." She explained. "But it was also what we needed to come to our senses. So in a strange way, I owe Jake."

"He won't like that…"

"What d'you mean?"

The teenager looked uncomfortable. "Dad phoned me just before you and Mum broke up. He was asking about Mum and I knew he was fishing around, so I told him about you and her. He was really annoyed. When he found out you'd moved out he was really pleased. I was more worried that she might let him back into her life, than angry with her."

"You need to tell her that, Ellie." Jo insisted. She paused. "Sweetheart… have you seen Jake tonight?"

"Yeah… he phoned me at about half ten and said he needed to speak to me. I wanted to tell him to leave Mum alone. Freya was already asleep so I crept out of the room and went downstairs. You and Mum were talking and didn't hear me go out. Dad picked me up in a white van."

The detective's grip on Ellie's hand tightened at that information. "Were you wearing a black cardigan?"

"No…" She plucked at the hoody she was wearing. "I was wearing this. There was a cardigan in the van, though."

Standing up, Jo pulled the teenager to her feet and wrapped a tight arm around her. "We need to go to the station, sweetheart. I'm going to have to take a statement from you."

"What's Dad done?"

"I think he's trying to discredit your Mum by planting evidence at the scenes of serious crimes."

* * *

_**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all have a FABULOUS DAY! :D**_

_**x**_


	15. Chapter 15

Jo closed the door of the interview room and placed a mug of tea on the table in front of Ellie. Smiling, she settled herself opposite her. After assuring the young woman that she'd spoken to Hannah, who was incredibly relieved that she was alright, she started the tape recorder and began questioning her on the events of that night.

"You said that your Dad phoned you at half past ten," she began, "but what time did he pick you up?"

"Straight away; he phoned me from outside. I hung up and got dressed… I must have forgotten to pick up my phone because I can't find it."

"Your Mum said it's at the house." Jo assured her.

"I left without anyone realising and Dad drove us away."

"Where did you go?"

Ellie furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard. "A car park somewhere near Reed Avenue; we drove past Canley Comp. I don't really know where exactly. Dad parked and told me that he wanted my help to get Mum back. He said that my baby needed its proper grandparents, not a pair of dykes." She broke off, wincing embarrassedly.

"Carry on. Tell me everything that happened." Jo prompted, smiling reassuringly and squeezing her hand. Ellie clung on tightly, as though drawing strength from the detective.

"I told him to leave her alone. I told him that I knew he'd hit her… he wanted to know if she'd said that, but I said I'd guessed. It was obvious, really. Mum's lies are always too simple; all she said was that she'd been hit by a suspect. If that was true she'd have said when and where and why. Besides, it's not the first time." Ellie pulled her hand gently out of Jo's and reached out for the mug on the table, wrapping her hands around it and staring at the dark liquid carefully. "Dad said that Mum couldn't really be happy with you. He said that she wasn't a dyke and she could never be happy with another woman. He said that him and her were meant to be together; that they always ended up together in the end. I said no, not this time. I told him that you and her were serious and I was glad because it meant that Mum would never go back to him. I told him I'd rather my baby had you as its Nan than having anything to do with him. Then…"

Anxiously, the detective moved around the table to sit beside Ellie and wrapped an arm around the teenager. "What did he do, Ellie?"

"I thought he was going to hit me. He was so angry, ranting about Mum and you. He leant forwards towards me, but I opened the door and ran. He followed me and I was scared he was going to catch me up; it's not easy running and being five months pregnant. I heard a mobile ringing and then I spotted some bins and hid behind them. Dad was on his phone and he ran straight past. When I was sure he'd gone I got up and started walking."

"How did you get to your Nan's flat, sweetheart?"

Ellie shrugged. "I don't know. Suddenly I was just there."

"Did you hear who your Dad was on the phone to?"

"Danny something?" Ellie answered, sounding unsure. "I can't remember really."

"Thank you, Ellie." Jo told her seriously. She removed the mug of hot liquid from the teenager's hands and switched off the tape before pulling her into a tight hug.

Wrapped in the detective's arms, Ellie found herself breaking down in tears. She clung on tightly, feeling like a child. Everything seemed to be piling up on her at once; her Mum, her Dad, Jo, the baby… she couldn't think straight. If Jo was right and her Dad was trying to get her Mum into trouble, then it was her fault. She was the one who'd told him about her relationship with Jo and it was because of her that he was so angry with them.

"It's my fault, Jo…"

"No, sweetheart, it's not your fault." The woman told her firmly, stroking a hand through her hair. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I told Dad about you and Mum in the first place. He wouldn't have done anything if I hadn't said. It's always the same; Mum convinces herself that he's changed, that he's the person she imagines him to be in her head. He plays along for a while, reminding her that he's been there for her and that they were always close. And then he gets inside her head and controls her and breaks her down and turns her into one of those women who she sees at work and tries so hard to save. I let him get to her again. Mum will never forgive me if she loses her job because of this."

Jo smiled sadly, tilting Ellie's chin up so the girl was looking at her properly. "Your Mum would rather lose her job than you, any day. Jake would have found out sometime… I'm not exactly easy to hide in a cupboard, am I? This honestly isn't your fault, sweetheart."

"I wish I was Theo's age."

"Why?" Jo asked, chuckling softly at the comment that seemed to come from nowhere.

"Because then I could call you Mum like the kids do without it being weird."

"Well, the age difference between us would raise fewer eyebrows than the one between you and your Mum." Jo pointed out, trying not to show how touched she was by the teenager's words. "But I don't think it would be weird, anyway."

"So you wouldn't mind?"

"Why would I?"

A knock on the door was accompanied by the soft scrape of the door being opened. Jo smiled at Sally as the blonde PC appeared in the interview room. "I can drive Ellie home now, if you're ready?"

Nodding, the brunette pulled the teenager to her feet and gave her a reassuring hug. "Go home and talk to your Mum. She'll understand, I promise."

"Thanks… I'll see you later, Mum."

It wasn't until Ellie had followed Sally from the room and the door had closed that Jo realised what the teenager had said. She smiled and shook her head slightly, before heading up to CID to hand over the tape of Ellie's interview.

"DC Masters?"

"Sergeant Smith, what can I do for you?" Jo asked brightly, turning to lean on the reception desk to speak to the man who was smiling at her.

"What's got you in such a good mood at this time of the morning, Jo?"

"Lots of things." She replied. "So, what d'you want from me?"

"Not me, DCI Meadows is looking for you."

Nodding, Jo headed through the doors and up to CID. Jack informed her that she should get home and sleep so that she'd be useful for the drugs raid that evening. Glancing at her watch, Jo saw that it was nearly five in the morning and she needed to be back in by three. It also made her realise that she hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours.

Stifling a yawn, the brunette DC drove to Hannah's house and let herself in. Pausing by the living room door, she heard low voices and smiled to herself, before turning and heading up the stairs. Collapsing on the bed, Jo didn't even have the energy to get changed before she fell asleep.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas! x**_


	16. Chapter 16

"Morning, gorgeous." Hannah murmured, stretching out along her bed and stroking a couple of stray hairs away from Jo's face. As the older woman sighed deeply and blinked a couple of times, she smirked. "Or should I say afternoon?"

Jo sat up quickly. "What time is it? I need to be back at the station by three."

"Relax! So do I, but it's only just gone half one."

"What are you doing back here? Weren't you supposed to be in court today?" The brunette leant back slightly and let her gaze wander over the younger woman appreciatively, taking in her smart skirt suit and tight blouse. "Dressing to impress, I see?"

Hannah laughed and rolled onto her back. "Not impressive enough, apparently; Court was dismissed for the day, so I'm back in again tomorrow."

"I guess you're excused from the raid tonight, then?"

"No way." The red-head told her firmly. "I'm going to be there."

"Hannah–"

Rolling back onto her side, the younger woman caught her girlfriend off guard, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

"You can't just kiss me when you think I'm about to say something you don't like. It's not going to–"

As they broke apart for the second time, Hannah laughed. "Wanna bet?"

"I might say things you don't like more often."

Smiling, the red-head wriggled closer, snuggling into Jo's side and laying an arm possessively across her stomach. "I spoke to Ellie last night… thank you."

"There's nothing to say thank you for." Jo assured her, twisting her head to place a kiss on Hannah's hair. "Have you sorted things out now?"

"I think so… Jake's got a lot to answer for. If he'd touched a hair on her head…"

"You'd have killed him and I'd have been there to bury the body." Jo finished the sentence for her.

"And we'd both end up in lovely adjoining cells." Hannah joked. Then she groaned. "I need to get changed; if I go into work like this can you imagine the abuse I'll get from Stuart and Mickey, not to mention Stevie."

"You don't have to get changed right now, do you? We don't have to be at the station 'til three…"

Hannah smirked. "But with the girls downstairs I think it's safer if we don't stay here."

"Do you have that little self-control, DC McKay?" Jo asked, pouting slightly.

"When you look that adorable, yes." The red-head informed her, reluctantly rolling off the bed and moving to search in her wardrobe. Pulling out a pair of skinny jeans, a vest-top and an emerald green jumper, she changed quickly. "Come on… go and get in the shower and I'll make us some lunch."

Grumpily, Jo heaved herself off the bed and headed towards the door. As she reached it, Hannah pushed it closed and pinned her girlfriend against the hard surface, kissing her heatedly. Just as the older woman thought her knees were going to give way, Hannah pulled away and ran her hands through the brunette's hair, resting her forehead against Jo's.

"I thought you said…"

"I told you I had very little self-control where you're concerned." Hannah reminded Jo with a smile. "Now go, before I don't let you out."

Laughing, Jo headed towards the bathroom and Hannah made sure she looked respectable. Downstairs, she leant through the living room door to ask what the girls wanted for lunch, before moving to the kitchen and starting to make cheese on toast. By the time Jo appeared, Freya and Ellie were on their second rounds of toast.

"Are you both going on this thing tonight?" Ellie asked as Jo settled herself at the table.

"Apparently your mother is refusing to stay behind." The brunette informed her, arching an eyebrow.

"I don't see why I should." Hannah said with a shrug. "It's not as though I'm going to put the operation at risk or endanger anyone's lives, am I? Besides, it was my informant that gave us the heads up on this."

Jo rolled her eyes. "Yes, Han, but it's also you who was under suspicion of your informant's murder and being involved in an attempted robbery… in the same day!"

"I won't be wrapped up in cotton wool, Jo." The younger woman warned her partner. "Remember where doing that got us last time."

Ellie stood up, pushing her chair backwards with a squeak and piling the plates beside the sink. "Oh… let's get out of here before the parents really start arguing… or worse."

"I don't know where she gets it from." Hannah murmured, shaking her head as the teenagers left the kitchen, resuming their positions on the sofa in front of the television. "Cheeky cow…"

"I could hazard a guess."

"I bet you could."

As Hannah bent down to pick up the now empty plate from in front of Jo, the brunette reached out and caught her off balance, pulling her down onto her lap. The younger woman giggled, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck and kissing her tenderly.

"I told you, Frey… they barely wait for us to leave the room before they get all gross." Ellie shouted, causing the two women to jump apart guiltily.

"Oh… sod off and paint your nails, child!" Hannah ordered, grinning at her.

Rolling her eyes, the teenager collected two cans of coke from the fridge and headed back to the living room. She paused and planted a kiss on each of the women's heads, before disappearing from sight and closing the door behind her.

x-x

Jo and Hannah headed into the station for their shift later than they'd intended. Jack spotted them trying to sneak into CID at quarter to four and called them into his office to give them a dressing down. Sam, however, saved them just in time by calling out a query about a witness she pretended that she'd asked them to pop in to see on their way in.

"We owe you." Jo muttered as Jack reluctantly let them go.

"Tomorrow night drinks are definitely on us, babe." Hannah agreed.

"I'm not even going to ask why you were late." The blonde muttered, smirking slightly. "But I owed Jo for covering for me when Phil turned up to take me to lunch out of the blue last week."

Hannah grinned, perching on the desk and shrugging. "It was totally innocent; I completely forgot I was supposed to be meeting Theo's teacher this afternoon until I was halfway here and had to double back."

"I'm glad all that school stuff is behind me." Sam replied.

"You're kidding, right? Abi'll have you at Harry's parents' evenings and sports days before you know it!" The red-head pointed out with a grin. Spotting the expression on her girlfriend's face as she pulled a face at the DI, Hannah arched an eyebrow. "I dunno why you're finding this funny, Joanne; you've got parents' evening to look forward to in a couple of weeks."

"Ma'am… I think I'm gonna need to put in some overtime in a couple of weeks…" Jo joked, dodging as Hannah swatted at her.

The red-head grinned, before catching Stevie's eye and whirling away to talk about a possible lead on the car theft case they'd been assigned. Spending the shift in and out of the office, time seemed to fly for the detective and, by the time the briefing on that evening's raid was called, Hannah and Stevie had almost wrapped up the case. There were a couple of reports to finish up and final statements to take, but they could wait.

"The warehouse where the deal is due to take place is under observation from this building here." Jack informed the assembled members of CID and Uniform. "CO19 will be attending because four of the suspects have a list of offenses involving firearms."

"Our targets," Inspector Gold took over, moving to point at the now familiar mug-shots, "are Danny and Nicky Dockery, Jake Webster, Anthony Carr, Graham Filler and Owen Patterson."

Sitting between Sam and Stevie, Hannah tensed as Gina pointed to the custody photo of Jake. Although she had resigned herself to the idea that Jake was in far deeper than she would have imagined, the detective still couldn't completely believe that he would be actively involved in the deal. She sat through the rest of the briefing, paying as much attention as she could so that she was completely familiar with what was coming. If Jake was involved, she wanted to be the one to arrest him so there was absolutely no doubt about her commitment to her job.

"… and then Sam, I want you heading up the second team here." Jack ordered, pointing to the floor plan of the warehouse. "Stevie and Mickey will be here, watching the gates and it'll be on their word that Sam's team will cover the exit. Jo and Hannah will be in this alleyway leading away from the warehouse."

"But… Guv?" Hannah was unable to stop herself speaking. "What's the point in us staying there? If Sergeant Wright's team are on the South side of the building then that alleyway is going to be pretty much blocked off."

"Pretty much isn't good enough." He told her firmly. "If we lose them through there they'll be away onto the Estate and we won't find them."

"Yes, Guv." Jo replied, nodding firmly and shooting the red-head a look.

As they rose to leave the briefing room, Hannah let out a short, sharp breath feeling her frustration building. It was obvious to her that they'd paired her with Jo and put them in the alleyway to keep her out of the way.

"Don't." Jo muttered as they headed to collect radios from the storeroom.

"Clearly the DCI doesn't trust me." She snapped. "Why else would he shove me in the background out of the way? He's probably put you with me to try and keep me under control."

Jo sighed. "Like that's going to work when you're in this mood." Glancing around, the brunette pushed her partner into a side room and closed the door. "Hannah, you've been a police officer long enough to know that sometimes all you get to do is sit in an alleyway and watch things unfolding around you. After the last couple of days you're lucky they're letting you in on this raid at all."

"I just…"

"You just wanted to nick Webster yourself?" Jo suggested, showing that she knew how the younger woman's mind worked. "You just wanted to prove that you're not bent?"

"Good choice of words, babe…" The red-head muttered, smirking slightly.

Chuckling, Jo cupped her face gently. "No one believes that you're corrupt, sweetheart."

"You're right…" Hannah smiled weakly. "I'm being stupid. As long as we get them… that's all that matters, right?"

As Jo pulled her into her arms, the door opened and Stevie appeared. "Come on, you two. We've got scum to catch."


	17. Chapter 17

Parked in the alleyway behind the warehouse, Hannah and Jo listened to what was going on over the radios. They heard Stevie and Mickey confirm that the Dockery brothers had arrived and, a couple of moments later, they reported that Patterson's car had appeared.

"Do you still think Webster isn't involved?" Jo asked twisting her head from its position, laid back against the headrest of the driver's seat, to look at Hannah carefully.

"I don't know."

The brunette smiled. "You really know how to pick them, babe."

"They pick me and besides, are you counting yourself there?"

"Of course." Jo teased, running a hand seductively up Hannah's leg.

She grinned. "Get off you letch! We have suspects to detain. Oh, no, wait… we have an alleyway to sit in."

They returned to staring at the dark building in front of them, listening to the radio almost like people listened to the news. Absentmindedly, Hannah stroked Jo's hand which was still resting gently on her thigh. She turned it over and interlinked their fingers, her gaze never leaving the point where the alleyway joined the yard at the back of the warehouse.

Both women jumped as Hannah's door opened. They froze as the barrel of a gun came into view and there was a loud click as it was cocked. A rough hand grabbed her shoulder and tried to drag her out of the car, the gun pressed to her temple. Jo's grip on her hand tightened instinctively.

"All units from–" Jo tried to alert attention, but her door was thrown open and another gun was shoved in her face as well. "Alright, alright…"

She was pulled from the car, stumbling and falling as her attacker shoved her roughly against the wall. Dragging Jo to her feet, he pulled her arms behind her and secured them there with a length of rope. Feeling the cold of the gun against the side of her head, the brunette took a deep breath, trying to hear what was going on with Hannah. Jo didn't resist as she was pulled along the alleyway towards the Estate and practically thrown into the back of a waiting van.

"Han? Babe? Are you alright?" She hissed as the van jolted into life. She tried to work out where her girlfriend was, her answer coming as they rounded a corner and Hannah was thrown towards her.

"Jo… did they hurt you?"

"Nothing I can't handle." The brunette assured her, struggling against the ropes and trying to pull her hands free. "What about you?"

"Same."

Hannah copied Jo's actions, trying to work her hands free. She managed to find a jagged edge on the panel behind her and set to work dragging the rope along it. As the van rounded a corner she fell headfirst, banging her head and blinking dazedly. Clambering to her knees, she shuffled backwards and resumed her task until she felt a snapping and realised she'd cut through part of the rope. Triumphantly, she continued with more enthusiasm, letting out a small squeak as she felt them loosening.

"Baby, turn round." She ordered, rubbing her wrists as the rope fell away.

Doing as she was told, Jo shuffled round so that Hannah could untie her wrists. As soon as she was free, she pulled the younger woman towards her, tangling her hands in her hair and kissing her heatedly. Pulling away, she stared at a cut just above Hannah's eyebrow, while Hannah eyed a graze on Jo's forehead angrily. Neither mentioned the injuries, however, knowing it wouldn't be appreciated.

"Have you got your radio?"

"No, they took it and my mobile… and one of my shoes. It must have come off in the struggle and I never noticed." Hannah said with a sigh. "How did this happen? Did they know we'd be there? Or was it just a guess?"

"I don't know…" Jo muttered. "Did you get a look at their faces; d'you know who they are?"

There was a pause before Hannah's defeated tone greeted her ears. "It's Jake and Danny Dockery."

"So is this personal or is it a hostage situation? Is it about you or is this insurance against us arresting the others?"

"How should I know, Jo?"

"I'm just wondering how to approach this." She assured the younger woman gently, sensing that she was about to start blaming herself.

Before she could say anything else, the van screeched to a halt and both women were thrown backwards. Reaching out, Hannah squeezed Jo's hand as they prepared for the doors to be opened. There was an unspoken agreement between them that as soon as they were, they'd try and overpower their captors.

Launching herself forward, Hannah landed a well-aimed kick to the nearest man. He crumpled as her foot connected with his stomach and she dodged past him. It was only when a loud click broke the near silence that she skidded to a halt and whirled around. The woman's legs almost gave way as she saw Jo, kneeling on the ground with a gun aimed at her head.

"Jake!" Hannah shouted, running towards him. "What are you doing?" She stopped as he pushed the gun into the brunette's temple. "Jake, please stop this. Let her go… please."

"No."

"What is it that you want?"

He looked at her as though she was stupid. "You."

"Right, well…" Hannah held her arms out and stared defiantly at him. "I'm here. Let Jo go and we can talk."

"What? So you can tell me you're in love with her?" Jake snarled, pushing the gun into Jo's head violently and making her wince. Hannah stepped forwards instinctively but stopped at the expression on his face. "I thought so."

"Look, Jake… you've got the gun so you're in control. Just please… don't do this."

"You don't tell me what to do."

"Why not, Jake? Why shouldn't I? I'm a police officer and you're a suspect." Hannah demanded, hoping that her gamble would pay off and he would react the way she expected him to.

For a split second he didn't move. Hannah forced herself to keep her eyes locked with his and not look at Jo. She knew that if she let her gaze wander for even a second then he would punish them both by hurting the brunette.

As Jake leapt towards her, grabbing the front of her jumper and pushing the gun up under her chin, Hannah held her breath. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jo climbing to her feet and looking around hurriedly. It was only then that she realised that Dockery had gone. Rather than being relieved that they only had Jake to contend with, his disappearance set her on edge.

"You don't talk to me like that, Hannah." Jake hissed threateningly. "You know what happens when you make me angry."

"Alright, I won't, OK? Just calm down and get that gun away from my face; I'm not ready for plastic surgery just yet."

"This is serious!"

"Jake… d'you think I don't know that? Look, just think about Ellie." Hannah ordered, more harshly than she'd intended. Over his shoulder she watched as Jo crept closer and softened her tone. "Think about your daughter. Ellie's five months pregnant… she doesn't need the extra stress."

"She's a slut, just like you. You've brainwashed my daughter; you and her." He turned to glare at Jo.

They froze as he realised what had been about to happen. Realising that Jake was on the verge of aiming the gun at her girlfriend, Hannah grabbed his arm and forced it away from her. Jo leapt forward too, dropping the sturdy stick she'd been clutching in her hand and grabbing his other arm. They struggled, Jake catching Jo in the face with the butt of the gun as he did so. As she gasped, Hannah panicked and bit his hand which was waving around near her head. Jake cried out and pulled the trigger.

As a gun shot rang out through the darkness, Hannah felt her blood turn to ice in her veins. She shoved Jake roughly aside to make sure Jo was uninjured and, receiving a small smile and a nod, she rounded on the man furiously.

"Jake! Give me the gun!" She ordered, ignoring the fact that he was pointing it at her and advancing on him. "Put it down!"

Without thinking, she leapt forwards and pushed his arm away, catching him off guard. There was another gunshot and Hannah flinched, before managing to wrestle it out of his hand. It hit the concrete with a clatter. Scooping it from the ground, she pointed it at Jake angrily.

"Han…" Jo muttered.

"I've got the gun." Hannah told her unnecessarily, adrenaline still coursing through her.

"Hannah." The older woman's voice was more urgent this time.

Turning, the red-head almost dropped the gun. Dockery had returned and was holding a knife to Jo's throat. Tightening her grip on the gun, Hannah took a step forward. She stopped as the brunette's eyes widened and a small trickle of blood escaped from beneath the knife.

"Let her go, Dockery."

He nodded his head towards Jake. "Give him the gun."

"Not until you let DC Masters go."

In response to her order, Dockery replaced the knife with his hand, gripping Jo's throat tightly. She choked as his hand squeezed her windpipe, but her eyes were telling Hannah not to do as he said. Torn between needing Jo safe and not wanting to give up the weapon, Hannah hesitated. Dockery held the knife at the brunette detective's side and twisted it in his hand, showing the younger woman that he meant business.

"OK, OK… just don't hurt her!" Hannah pleaded, holding the gun in Jake's direction without moving her gaze from Jo's face.

As the weapon was snatched from her hand, she felt Jake's arm wrap tightly around her chest, with one hand around her throat and the cold barrel of the gun pressing against her temple. Jo closed her eyes for a moment, the pained expression even clearer when she opened them.

x-x

Hannah opened her eyes and groaned weakly. There was a sigh of relief from beside her and the red-head realised that her head was resting on someone's lap. Ignoring the hands soothing gently through her hair, she struggled to pull herself into a seated position. It took her a moment to realise that she must be back in the van, the swaying motion causing her to hit her head against the surface behind her.

"What happened?" She groaned, raising a hand to her head.

Jo moved Hannah's hand away and examined the bump quickly, before pulling her into a hug. "Why did you give him the gun, sweetheart?"

"Because Dockery was hurting you, Jo! You would have done the same."

"Hannah–"

"No, you know you would." The red-head replied, shifting slightly so she was looking directly at the older woman. It was dark in the back of the van, but she could just about make out her girlfriend's face. "Remember how you felt when I was in hospital after Henderson ran me over. How much worse would it have been if you knew it was because of you? It would have been like when you got kidnapped by Rachel Innes, but worse. How would I survive if he'd killed you?"

"He wouldn't have–"

"Yes, he would." Hannah insisted, raising a hand to Jo's face. "You know he would." She sighed and lowered her hand, reaching for Jo's with her other. "I'm guessing Jake knocked me out? How long was I unconscious?"

The brunette shrugged. "I'm not sure; I was knocked out too."

"I'm assuming that there are two motives here; Jake wants revenge on us and Dockery just wants… well… either to have hostages to trade for his brother or something similar."

"So what's the plan?"

Hannah laughed bitterly. "I have no idea."

"Well… we don't know where we are or exactly what they want. We have no idea what's happened at the warehouse. This is looking interesting." Jo said sighing as the younger woman shuffled even closer and buried her head in her shoulder.

A couple of moments passed, before Hannah raised her head, listening carefully. "Can you hear that?"

"What?"

"My mobile's ringing… they've got my mobile and it's switched on!"

"We can be traced?" Jo realised grinning. "Well that's good news, anyway."

"As long as they get to us before Jake and Dockery realise or anything happens." Hannah pointed out. "I can't believe they're that stupid."

"They're men."

"Fair point." The red-head agreed, laughing softly. "I suppose we've just got to sit tight and wait. There's nothing we can do from the back of a van. Besides… I've lost both my shoes, now."


	18. Chapter 18

Sam listened to the orders on her radio, before motioning the team of uniformed officers under her command to take up their positions. They surged forwards as DCI Meadows gave the order to go in, Sam following behind at a run. With CO19 in position, the targets were quickly rounded up and put in the back of the police vans, while uniform bagged up the weapons, drugs and money as evidence.

"Targets one and three aren't here." Jack informed her as she made her way through the warehouse to stand beside him. "Did you see them?"

"No? Has anyone?"

"Not that I know of."

The petite blonde raised her radio. "DI Nixon to DC Masters, any sign of Jake Webster or Danny Dockery? DC McKay?" When there was no response, she turned to Jack and tried again. "Jo? Hannah?"

"Sergeant Stone," Jack attracted the man's attention when again there was no answer over the radio, "take PCs Noble, Roberts and Gayle and check the south side of the building. We're not getting any response from DCs Masters and McKay."

"Well... if you leave those two alone in a dark alley with time to kill, what d'you expect?" Nate muttered with a smirk as they headed away.

"PC Roberts!" Sam snapped, catching his words. "If you're suggesting that either DC Masters or DC McKay would be unprofessional enough to–"

"Of course he isn't, Ma'am." Callum assured her quickly, shooting the PC a dark look. "We'll check it out now."

As the four uniformed officers strode away, Sam tapped the radio against her lips. She began pacing agitatedly, waiting for Stone to get back to her with information. The blonde was so focused on the call coming through on the radio that, when it crackled into life she jumped and almost dropped the communicator.

"DI Nixon from 30."

"Go ahead, Callum." Sam almost snapped.

"The car is still here, along with both radios and a mobile on the driver's seat, but there's no sign of Jo or Hannah." He informed her. Sam looked up at Jack, wide-eyed. "The doors are open and there are signs of a struggle."

"What signs?"

"Scuff marks on the ground mainly. There's also a shoe; one of those flat ballet type ones, size six." There was a pause, which immediately set Sam on her guard. She was about to demand to know what he wasn't telling her, when Sergeant Stone spoke again. "There's blood too, Ma'am. It's not much, but there is blood on the top of the passenger door and also on the opposite side of the alley on the wall."

"Right…" Sam wondered how much blood there actually was. She imagined the scene in her mind, realising that from Stone's description it was highly likely that both her friends were bleeding. "Secure the scene; I'll get SOCO down there straight away."

As Sam ended a call to Eddie, ordering him to get to the scene as fast as possible, both detectives began striding towards the south exit of the warehouse, needing to see what had happened for themselves.

Jack glanced at the grim, determined face of his colleague. "Are we assuming they've been kidnapped by Webster and Dockery?"

"I don't think we can assume anything else, can we?" Sam replied. "With Dockery I'm assuming it's entirely because they're police officers. But with Webster I have a horrible feeling it's personal."

"Which is bad for us and for Jo and Hannah."

"Don't remind me." Sam muttered, slipping through the door in front of Jack and waiting for him to catch up. "There must have been a vehicle involved for Webster and Dockery to get both of them out of here. We should get someone collecting up CCTV straight away."

The DCI nodded and moved away to speak to Sergeant Stone, passing on Sam's orders. The blonde woman moved around the car looking at it carefully. The shoe was definitely one of the ones Hannah had been wearing earlier and the discarded mobile belonged to Jo. She sighed and moved to the passenger side to examine the blood that Callum had mentioned. Slightly relieved that, as he'd said, it wasn't much, she moved to the alley wall and found that there, too, the blood was minimal.

"DI Nixon from 258?"

"Go ahead, Beth." Sam said quickly, raising her radio to her mouth.

"I've just spoken to a woman who saw a transit van heading out of the alley about fifteen or twenty minutes ago and headed along Vallance Street towards the Larkmead Estate."

"Thanks, Beth." Sam turned to Diane and Nate who were standing behind her. "I want CCTV from Vallance Street towards the Larkmead. We're looking for a white transit, OK?"

"Yes, Ma'am." They chorused, heading away quickly while Sam went to fill Jack in on what Beth had told her.

x-x

Just over half an hour later, Sam and Terry were heading over to Fenshaw Lane, where uniform had received reports of a white transit van and gunshots. As soon as they arrived at the second crime scene, Sam spotted Hannah's other shoe lying discarded at the side of the road. At first glance, nothing else seemed odd or out of place. Knowing that the CSEs would spot anything of interest, the blonde DI moved to sit on the bonnet of the car. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

"Guv?"

"Terry, have they found Hannah's mobile yet?" Sam asked, standing up and resuming DI mode.

"Not yet; it's not by the warehouse and it doesn't appear to be here either."

The DI nodded and pulled out her own mobile. "So she might still have it on her." Dialling the red-headed DC's number, Sam started pacing as she waited for the call to connect. The second she heard it ringing, she flapped her hand towards Terry to attract his attention. "Get TIU to put a trace on it, now!"

He nodded and pulled out his own mobile, calling into the station to get someone from the Telephone Investigation Unit to track the signal. As the call went to answerphone, Sam hung up; a thousand possibilities running through her mind. What if they were injured, or worse, and couldn't get to the phone? What if it had been ditched somewhere? What if the phone was heading in a different direction to the two detectives? What if their abductors realised it could be traced? What if, what if, what if?

The thoughts tumbled round and round in Sam's mind until Terry gently touched her arm, bringing her back to the present. He explained that TIU were narrowing in on the signal from Hannah's phone and would phone him back when they had something concrete to tell them.

"Sam?"

"Eddie, what've you found?" The blonde demanded, exchanging a look with Terry and heading towards the Crime Scene Investigator.

"You said the witnesses heard gunshots?" He asked and she nodded. "I've found the weapon."

"What? Where?"

The CSE pointed a little way along the lane. "Down there, quite a way from where we found the bullets. There's one embedded in that fence down there and one in the grass at the side of the road up here." He pointed out the places as he spoke. "At my guess, judging from the angles, the gun was fired from about… here."

"Any fingerprints on the gun?"

"Yeah; we've got a nice clear set. I'm about to send them back to the lab." Eddie told her with a shrug. "But the good news is there's no blood so I doubt anyone was injured."

Terry glanced around, taking in the scene and the locations of the bullets. "It could have gone off during a struggle, then?"

"It's possible… maybe even probable."

"Thanks, Eddie." Sam nodded at him. "Let me know when you get the results."

He agreed and the two detectives headed back to the pool car. The DI decided that there was nothing else for them to do at the moment but head back to the station and see what was going on at that end of the investigation. Uniform were still looking for witnesses and at the CCTV footage they'd gathered, but it was nearing midnight now and there were few people around.

Halfway back to the station, seconds after ending a call to Stevie who had gone to Hannah's house to stay with the children, Sam's mobile began to ring and she snapped it open quickly. "DI Nixon."

"Guv, it's Kezia. We've got a location on Hannah's mobile. They're heading south along Braxton Road… turning right onto Livingston Avenue and heading towards Padstow Road."

"What's around that area?" Sam demanded, glancing sideways at Terry. "Where could they be heading?"

"I'm not sure." The young DC murmured slowly, obviously perusing the map for possible locations. "One possibility, if they turn onto Herriot Drive, is Westway Woods…"

Sam frowned. "The woods? Why would they go to the woods?"

"I hate to say it, Guv, but if they've got a gun and they want revenge…"

"I want armed back up, now." She ordered, feeling sick at the images conjured up in her mind at Kezia's hesitant words. "Get everyone available down to Westway Woods."

* * *

_**A/N: Last update of 2012!**_

_**Thank you so much for all your support this year, guys! Happy New Year and see you on the other side! :)**_

_**x**_


	19. Chapter 19

"Hannah, get out." Jake ordered gruffly, grabbing her arm and pulling her forwards. As Jo started to move as well, he pointed a gun at her. "Not you."

Looking over her shoulder, Hannah tried to smile at her girlfriend as the van doors were slammed, separating them. She sighed and looked warily at the gun being pointed at her, noticing that it was different from the one he'd used earlier.

"That's a different gun." She pointed out, motioning towards it. "Where's the other one? Has Dockery got it?"

"Danny's gone to sort something out." Jake snapped. His hand was shaking and Hannah noticed that his pupils were dilated.

"Are you high?" She demanded angrily.

"Take your top off."

Hannah raised an eyebrow. "What? You're kidding me?"

"You might be wearing a wire."

"It's March and I'm already freezing, Jake. I can assure you that I'm not wearing a wire."

"Take it off!"

He made his point by prodding her roughly in the chest with the gun. Sensing that she didn't have much choice, Hannah peeled off her jumper with shaking hands. The cold night air hit her newly exposed flesh, raising goose bumps on her skin instantly. She paused, hoping that removing her jumper would be enough but, as Jake jabbed her with the weapon again, she realised that it wasn't. Gritting her teeth, Hannah pulled her vest top over her head as well, dropping it on top of the jumper. Rubbing her arms to try and stave off the worst of the cold, she glared at him.

"Happy?" She demanded. "No wire. Can I get dressed now, please?"

As she bent to pick up her clothes, Jake shoved her and sent her sprawling to the ground. He grabbed the top and jumper, throwing them away into the darkness. Jumping to her feet, forgetting about the gun, Hannah leapt at him angrily, lashing out.

"What did you do that for?"

"Get off!" Jake shouted, pushing her away.

There was a loud bang as the gun went off and, from inside the van, Jo started hammering on the doors and screaming to be let out. Hannah trembled; a mixture of cold, shock and fear almost rendering her paralysed and speechless. After a moment or two, she pulled herself together and called out to her girlfriend, letting her know she was alright.

"Put the gun down, Jake." She requested as calmly as she could. "You've already accidentally fired three shots tonight and it's a miracle that no one's been injured, let alone killed."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He snapped, waving the gun at her again. Hannah backed away, hitting the cold doors of the van. "I give you the gun and you turn it on me?"

"I'm not saying you have to give it to me. All I'm saying is put it down. Please, Jake."

He walked towards her and, with her back already pressed against the cold metal doors, Hannah had nowhere else to go. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. She could feel the gun pressing into her side and, with Jake's track record of firing without meaning to, she held her breath and stayed completely still.

His hand was rough on her naked skin, grabbing at her hip as his lips attacked her neck. The feel of him was wrong, whereas being with Jo felt right. Hannah squeezed her eyes even tighter closed and balled her hands into fists, concentrating on the cold, hard cylinder of the gun barrel against her side and willing it not to go off. If Jake pulled the trigger that would be it; she wouldn't stand a chance. Her mind flickered to the woman trapped in the van and she let out a small sob.

"Jo…" She whispered, the name slipping out before she could stop it.

In an instant Jake had moved away and there was a stinging blow to the side of her head. She staggered and dropped to her knees, one hand pressed to the point of impact, feeling blood oozing from a wound. As she crumpled on the ground, Jake aimed several kicks at her, catching her ribs and stomach and sending pain shooting through her. Coughing, Hannah was only distantly aware of the van doors being opened and Jake shouting something.

Jo was out of the van straight away, looking around for her girlfriend. She gasped as her eyes fell on the younger woman crumpled on the ground, wearing just her bra and jeans. Pulling off her jumper, Jo dropped to the ground beside her and tried to manoeuvre it over Hannah's head. She was struggling against the woman's arms which were stiff with cold and seemed unwilling to bend when Jake grabbed the cloth and tried to yank it out of her hands. He aimed a punch at the side of Jo's head, catching her off guard and knocking her into the van. The brunette steadied herself, ignoring the pain in her head and in her shoulder where she had hit the vehicle and glared at him.

"Let go!" She ordered. "She's freezing… she's got bare feet and no top… do you want her to get hypothermia?"

"I don't care!"

"Why? Are you intending to kill us before that's an issue?" Jo snapped.

"Hannah's not wearing a wire, but you might be." He thought aloud. Then he waved the gun at her, reaching out and plucking at her shirt. "Take it off."

"No way!"

Jake pushed the gun into Hannah's face. "Now!" Shakily, Jo did as he ordered, never taking her eyes off the gun as her fingers struggled with the buttons; cold and fear stopping them responding properly. "OK… no wires. Now stand up."

Pulling Hannah to her feet, Jo wrapped an arm protectively around the red-head, ignoring the angry snort from the man's direction as she did so. Jake, still clutching Jo's top, forced them to walk into the woods ahead. As she passed Hannah's discarded jumper, Jo bent quickly to pick it up, trying to wrap it around the younger woman's shoulders to stave off the worst of the cold.

They walked a little way through the thick, densely placed trees, before Jo turned to glare at him. She noticed that he no longer had her shirt and realised that he must have dropped it somewhere along the way. "Jake… where are we going? This is stupid. What do you want?"

"Shut up." He snapped, pointing the gun at her and moving his finger over the trigger.

Holding up a hand, Jo did as he said, tightening her grip on Hannah and urging her forward into the darkness. She was holding on to the hope that their colleagues had managed to trace Hannah's mobile. Then, hopefully, they would find the van and head into the woods. If they found her shirt, wherever Jake had dropped it, they would be able to find them. She only hoped it wouldn't be too late.

"In there." Jake ordered, bringing Jo out of her thoughts with a start.

"Where?"

He shoved her roughly in the back, before pointing at something in the darkness. "That shed… get in."

Wondering whether that was where they were going to die, Jo led Hannah towards the shed. Carefully, she slid the jumper off Hannah's shoulders and dropped it beside the building; a final clue as to their location. Jo paused in the doorway, turning to look at Jake defiantly. He said nothing, smirking at her and hitting her face with the back of his hand, before pushing her violently and slamming the door. There was a scrabbling sound and then a click. When Jo pushed on the door, it wouldn't move and she guessed they were locked in.

It was so dark inside the shed that she accidentally stood on Hannah's leg as she turned. Sinking to the ground beside the younger woman, Jo took several stuttered breaths and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms relieved that, for now at least, they were still alive. She almost jumped as Hannah reached out, wrapping her in her arms and pressing a kiss against the brunette's head. Jo wrapped her own arms around the red-head's waist, resting her head against Hannah's chest.

"I'm so sorry, Jo." Hannah murmured, her teeth chattering. "This is all my fault."

"No, it's not."

"What I don't understand is why we're still alive."

Jo chuckled weakly, moving as close as possible to the younger woman in an attempt to keep warm. "Always look at the positives, don't you?"

"No, but seriously, Jo, if Jake wanted us dead he had plenty of opportunity." Hannah pointed out, rubbing her tender cheek against the top of Jo's head. "He could have killed us a hundred times over, but instead he's just locked us in here. Why?"

"Maybe he's planning on coming back or maybe he's just trying to scare us."

"But why? Jake said that Dockery had gone to sort something… what if he was getting us out of the way for some reason? Surely they'd know that most of Sun Hill will be looking for us… what if this is a distraction for them to do something else?"

"Like what?" Jo asked, suddenly sitting up straighter and thinking about what her partner had suggested.

"I don't know… but it can't be good if there are guns involved and they've caused this much disruption to cover it up."

* * *

_**A/N: Happy 2013!**_


	20. Chapter 20

"Stevie? Phil's coming to stay with the kids because we need you down here."

"Alright, Guv." The younger blonde agreed cheerfully, even though it was almost one in the morning and she'd been on shift for nearly seventeen hours. "D'you want me to hang around here until he arrives?"

"I think it's safer; just in case."

"D'you think they'd come after the kids?"

Sam sighed and shrugged, glancing sideways at Terry who was driving them quickly towards Westway Woods. "I have no idea. We found a gun in Fenshaw Lane, along with two bullets; one embedded in the fence and another in the undergrowth beside the road. There was no blood, so at the moment we're assuming they're alive."

"There are less messy ways of killing someone, Sam." Stevie reminded her, causing the older woman to wince.

"I know that." She almost snapped. "I just don't want to think about it."

There was a long sigh from the other end of the phone. "Me either… What else have we got?"

"Eddie's just phoned me with the forensics from the alley behind the warehouse. Apparently the blood on the car door belongs to Hannah and the blood on the wall is Jo's. All the fingerprints they found belong to them. There's a footprint in the mud which is too big to belong to either, so it presumably belongs to either Webster or Dockery."

"Are we definitely sure that they're behind this?"

"Well… there's no forensic evidence yet, but I think we have to assume." Sam told her bluntly.

"Anything else?"

"The fingerprints on the gun we recovered are Hannah's."

There was a pause. "Any other prints on it?"

"No… just hers."

"But there were no fingerprints at the abduction site, so surely we have to assume they were wearing gloves. Just because Hannah's were the only prints on the gun it doesn't mean she was the one who fired the shots."

Sam smiled, relieved that she was not the only one who was unfaltering in her belief in the two detectives. "No, of course it doesn't. Right… when Phil arrives get down to Westway Woods and we'll meet you there."

Hanging up, she opened the car door and emerged into the cold early morning air, pulling her jacket tightly around her. Even with the thick coat on she was freezing. Looking around, she followed Terry towards a group of uniformed officers, shooting them a brief smile before she started asking questions.

"What's that?" Sam demanded, pointing to something clutched tightly in Beth's hand.

The young PC held it out. "We think it's Jo's jumper."

"And there's a top as well… a vest top." Sally told the DI, holding her own offering in the woman's direction. "Black, size twelve."

"Right… fan out. I want every inch of these woods searched."

"Ma'am." Came the chorus of responses from the relief as they separated to begin their task.

Leading from the front, Sam left Terry to wait for Stevie and the others who were still on their way to the site, and headed into the woods. She flashed her torch around, calling out to her friends urgently. Her attention was alerted to a pale blue shirt by one of the PCs and immediately knew it was Jo's. Her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered why their clothes seemed to have been strewn along the muddy track through the woods.

A crash and several choice swear words alerted her to Stevie's presence and the younger blonde winced apologetically, before settling down to help with the search. Sam rolled her eyes, but couldn't help feeling her spirits rising slightly at the younger woman's infectious enthusiasm.

The shrill ringing of the DI's mobile made her jump and she hurriedly fumbled for it. "DI Nixon."

"Sam, it's Grace… Hannah's mobile's moving again." The DC informed her quickly. Sam frowned, pausing in her search. "It was stationery at Westway Woods for about fifty minutes and now it's moving North."

Thinking quickly, Sam wondered what to do. There was no guarantee that Jo and Hannah were in the woods but, also, there was no guarantee that Hannah's mobile was in their possession. She didn't want to scale back the search, but she also didn't want to risk anything happening to them if they were being taken somewhere else.

"Right… thanks Grace. Keep me informed, but get onto Terry and let him know. Tell him to get after the signal and I'll send uniform with him." Sam commanded. She ended the call and pulled out her radio. "Sierra Oscar One from DI Nixon."

"Go ahead, Sam."

"Grace just informed me that the signal from Hannah's mobile is moving again." The blonde said quickly. "I don't want to give up on the search, so I've told her to get Terry to follow it and wondered whether you could assign some uniformed officers to assist."

"Course, I'll get Nikki to sort it now."

"Thanks, Gina."

With a sigh, Sam resumed her slow walk through the woods. Her torchlight landed on a building of some sort and she made her way towards it. Stooping quickly, she picked up a soft, emerald green jumper and held her breath anxiously. Banging on the door, she called out her friend's names urgently.

"Sam?" Jo's voice sounded weak as she responded, although the relief in her tone was obvious.

"Are you alright?" The DI demanded, fumbling with the padlock on the door. "Hang on… All units in Westway Woods from DI Nixon; I've found them. They've been locked in some sort of shed and I need assistance removing the padlock."

"DI Nixon from 876… where exactly are you?"

"It's a wood, Nate." Sam snapped. "There aren't exactly any landmarks."

"Yeah… sorry, Ma'am… maybe you could wave your torch around a bit?"

With a sigh, the petite blonde rolled her eyes and started doing as he'd requested. After a couple of moments, a crackle came through on the radio and Nate informed her that he was on his way. Moments before he arrived, Stevie and Sally appeared, closely followed by Beth, Mickey and Smithy.

They stood back as Nate and Smithy began trying to force the latch with their asps. After a couple of moments there was a metallic screech and the catch popped free of the door. Sam moved forwards instantly, flinging it open and staring inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

"Here…" She murmured gently, crouching down and holding out the jumper she'd found beside the shed.

Realising that both women were too cold to do much about it, she leant forwards and pulled it over Hannah's head to cover her exposed flesh, before removing her coat and draping it round Jo. It didn't do much to preserve her modesty, Sam being several sizes smaller than the brunette so she requested one of the men's jackets instead. Smithy handed his over at once, turning away to prevent embarrassing them.

Once they were both covered up, Sam helped them to their feet and led them towards the edge of the woods. Stevie and Beth walked on either side of Hannah, rubbing her arms and back gently in an attempt to both reassure her that she was safe and warm her up slightly. Just in front of them, Sam and Sally copied their actions with Jo. Mickey phoned Eddie, informing him that the Crime Scene Examiner was needed to check out the shed for forensics, while the two male uniformed officers secured the scene.

"Phil's not working tonight, so I sent him round to your house." Sam told Hannah softly as the younger woman allowed herself to be wrapped in a blanket by a paramedic. At the panicked expression that appeared on her face, the blonde stroked a stray hair away from her face and smiled reassuringly. "Just a precaution, I promise. We've heard nothing to indicate that there's anything to be worried about. I just thought you'd be happier that they weren't alone."

"Thanks, Sam." She smiled and then arched an eyebrow. "Come on then, let's get the questions over and done with."

Sam shook her head. "Not until you've been checked over and the FME says you're fit to make a statement."

"I'm fine, love… just cuts and bruises and a little chilly." Hannah assured her.

"I'm not surprised! I'm guessing you lost your shoes in a struggle, but what happened to your tops?"

"Jake wanted to make sure we weren't wearing wires. Well… that's what he said, anyway. But he's a man, so he probably just wanted us to take our tops off."

"Men…" Sam sighed, smiling weakly and squeezing her arm. She was relieved that nothing more serious had happened to her friends.

"Have you found them? Jake and Dockery, I mean." The red-head asked.

Sam shook her head, folding her arms and glancing over to the ambulance where Jo was being checked over. "We're still tracing the signal from your mobile; Terry's following with uniform for back up."

"I can't believe they were stupid enough to leave it on." Hannah replied, shaking her head in disbelief. "We heard it ringing when they were bringing us here and guessed you'd trace it. I assumed they'd realise and take the battery out. When they didn't and they didn't kill us either, Jo and I wondered whether this was part of the plan. We wondered whether they were trying to distract you from something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know… but it doesn't make sense. Why would they abduct us and just leave us here for you to find? They had plenty of opportunity to kill us and they know we'd be able to identify them. It's too… it's too stupid."


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as both Jo and Hannah had been cleared for interview by the medics, they insisted on making their statements. With a quick wink, Jo headed away to the furthest interview room with Smithy and Mickey, while Hannah was ushered into another room by Sergeant Stone and Kezia. They smiled as she commented that she'd spent more time on this side of the table over the last few days than she had in her entire career.

"So," Callum began once the interview had been formally started, "start at the beginning and talk us through everything you can remember, Han."

She smiled. "I've heard that is a very good place to start." Resting her elbows on the table, Hannah rubbed her forehead as she thought, struggling to remember every part of what had happened that night. "Obviously Jo and I were in the car in the alley behind the warehouse. We heard Stevie over the radio confirming that the Dockerys and Patterson's car had arrived. Then we heard DI Manson give the order to go into the warehouse. We couldn't see or hear anything that was going on in the warehouse, so we just waited to see what would happen.

Umm… my door flew open without any warning and someone shoved a gun into my head and dragged me out of the car. Jo tried to alert everyone over the radio, but I assume they must have stopped her. I banged my head on the car door when they tied my hands behind my back and I… I don't really remember what happened next, but then we were in the back of a van.

I managed to get free and I untied Jo… the van stopped and they opened the doors. I kicked one of them in the stomach… I'm not sure which one. He doubled over and I pushed past and ran. When I turned round Jo was kneeling on the floor and Jake was aiming the gun at her head. I tried to talk him into giving up the gun, but it just made him angrier. He came for me instead and pushed the gun up under my chin."

"Where was Dockery?" Callum asked quickly.

Hannah shook her head. "I don't know… I couldn't see him. Jake had the gun here…" She demonstrated with her hand. "Jo was creeping up behind him with a big stick or something… but he turned around and saw her. There was a struggle…"

"Is that when the gun went off?" Kezia prompted. Hannah nodded, not needing to ask how they knew. She assumed that they'd found the bullets at the scene; not much got past Eddie.

"Yeah… he hit Jo with the gun and I bit him; I think that's why he pulled the trigger."

Callum smirked slightly. "You bit him?"

She smiled weakly and raised her eyebrows. "If he's gonna shove his hand in my face, then I'll bite it. Anyway… that scared me into trying to wrestle it out of his hands. The gun went off again, but I managed to get it off him. Jo called me and for a second I thought she'd been shot. When I turned around Dockery was holding her and had a knife against her neck. He told me to give the gun to Jake, but I wouldn't until he let Jo go… but then she was bleeding and he was strangling her and I had no choice.

Next thing I know I was in the back of the van again. Jo said she must have been knocked out too, because she didn't know how long we'd been in there. Then I heard my mobile ringing and we realised you'd be trying to trace us. When we stopped, Jake made me get out and locked Jo in. I realised he had a different gun and I asked if Dockery had the other one, but he said he'd gone to sort something out. I don't know what. I can't tell you if he drove to the woods and left from there, or whether he went straight from the alley."

"We found the first gun in the alleyway where it went off. The only prints we could get off it were yours."

Hannah nodded. "Jake was wearing gloves."

"What happened at the woods?" Kezia coaxed her gently.

"Jake was acting oddly… I think he'd taken something. He told me to take my top off so he could check for a wire. I thought just my jumper would be enough, but…" She paused. "When I tried to put my top and my jumper back on Jake threw them away. The gun went off again. He… he kissed me and I… I couldn't… I was so cold and the gun was in my side… I couldn't stop him…"

Exchanging a look with Callum, the young detective leant forwards and squeezed Hannah's hand across the table. "Did Webster assault you?"

"No." Hannah shook her head firmly, keeping hold of Kezia's hand and using her other to rub her eyes angrily. "No, but he probably would have done if I hadn't… I said Jo's name and it made him angry. He hit me and I fell over. Then… then Jo was there trying to put her jumper on me. I… I don't really know what happened then… my head was spinning and then…" She took a deep breath. "Then we were walking through the woods. Jo had her arm around me and Jake was behind us. He told us to get into this old shed and locked us in. Then we heard Sam outside and… that's it."

Callum smiled at her. "Thanks, Han."

"Anytime." She replied with a sigh, standing up. Kezia ended the interview and turned off the tape. "What's the latest? Sam's not really telling me much."

"They're still tracking the signal from your mobile." The Sergeant told her as he held the interview room door open and ushered her through. "But we don't know who's got it or even whether it's either of the suspects."

"Are the others in custody?"

He nodded. "Nicky Dockery, Owen Patterson, Graham Filler and Anthony Carr are all accounted for. None of them were particularly happy about being arrested and we've got Patterson and Filler on assault charges as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah… Patterson's given Emma a right shiner."

Hannah winced. "Ooh… Tell her I hope she's OK."

He grinned and headed away as the door of the interview room Jo had disappeared into opened and she emerged. Reaching out and squeezing Smithy's arm, the brunette headed towards her girlfriend, cupping her face and smiling at her.

"Alright?"

"Fine, you?" Hannah replied quickly.

"Better than I was an hour ago." Jo told her truthfully. She yawned, glancing at the clock on the wall behind the red-head. "Let's go home and get some sleep. This will still be going on tomorrow."

"I won't be able to sleep, Jo." The younger woman told her, shaking her head. "Not until I know they've been found."

"Well let's go home and not get some sleep, then. There's no point hanging round here, Han."

Grudgingly, the younger woman agreed and trailed out of the station after her girlfriend.

When they arrived home, they found Phil crashed out on the sofa with the option menu of _St Trinians_ playing on a loop. Hannah dropped onto the sofa beside him, deliberately landing half on his lap and causing him to jerk awake looking confused.

"Never had you down as a fan of _St Trinians_, Phillip." Jo teased, switching off the television and sitting on his other side.

"I could say the same to you, Joanne. Or is this one of yours, Han?"

"Neither." The red-head replied with a grin. "It belongs to one of the girls. I'm sure they'll find it hilarious that you share a similar taste in films."

"I expect I like it for different reasons." He told her cheekily, winking at Jo.

"Probably the same reasons she sits through it." Hannah told him, reaching over him to prod Jo in the leg.

Forcing an innocent expression onto her face, the brunette shrugged. "I don't know what you mean."

"I mean you've got a thing for Lily Cole."

"I just like red-heads." Jo told her with a grin. She stood up and dropped a kiss on the top of her girlfriend's head. "I'm gonna put the kettle on; cuppa, Phil?"

He yawned and stretched. "I'd better get off. Is Sam still at the station?"

"She was when we left, but she said she was leaving." Hannah told him as he practically rolled over her to stand up. "Get off me you big lump!" She giggled, pushing him away and wincing slightly. Then she sighed. "Tell Sam thanks, yeah?"

"I will." He promised softly, winking and sending her a gentle smile.

By the time Jo reappeared in the living room with two mugs of tea, Hannah had fallen asleep. The brunette rolled her eyes and set the mugs down on the coffee table, before pulling a blanket over the younger woman and heading upstairs to bed.


	22. Chapter 22

"What are you two doing here?" Stevie demanded as Hannah and Jo headed through the doors into CID the next morning. "I thought the Guv gave you the day off?"

"He did." Hannah agreed, picking up a file that had found its way onto her desk and flipping through it absentmindedly. "But did you actually expect us to stay away?"

The blonde shrugged and nodded. "Fair point."

"So? Have Webster and Dockery been tracked down yet?" Jo asked, perching on Stevie's desk as the younger woman leant back in her chair.

"Uniform brought Dockery in last night. They were caught red-handed robbing a jewellers in Pasey Arcade, but Webster managed to get away."

Before either woman could ask questions, Sam appeared in the office, frowning at them. "What are you doing here?"

"Sam… you didn't seriously think we wouldn't want to come in." Jo replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Hannah, aren't you supposed to be back in Court this morning?" The DI reminded her.

"Shit!" The younger DC exclaimed, leaping out of her chair and grabbing her jacket. As she headed hurriedly for the doors, she called over her shoulder accusingly. "Why didn't you remind me, Jo? Sam, can ring them and let them know I'm on my way?"

Shaking her head in mild amusement, the older woman went into her own office to phone the Court and let them know. Jo sighed and turned back to Stevie, pressing her for more details about the robbery. The young blonde, only having arrived ten or so moments before the brunette, didn't have much more information than she'd already told them.

With the DCI adamant that if Jo wasn't going to go home she had to stay in the station, the brunette turned her attention to the pile of paperwork on her desk. She was halfway through her reports when Grace passed her desk and told her that Ellie was in reception. Frowning slightly, assuming that Hannah would have told her she was going to Court when she went home to change, Jo headed down the stairs in search of the teenager.

"Can you just let my Mum know I'm here?" Ellie was demanding, leaning on the desk.

Emma shook her head. "Hannah's in Court this morning, didn't she tell you?"

"No… I know that. I mean Jo."

Smiling to herself, Jo moved towards her, putting a hand on the teenager's shoulder. She frowned as the young woman flinched. "Els?" As Ellie threw herself into the woman's arms, clinging to her tightly, the detective stroked her hair and attempted to walk them into the interview room away from prying eyes. "Sweetheart? What's happened?"

"Dad… it's Dad…"

Pushing her into the room and closing the door, Jo looked at Ellie carefully. "What about your Dad?"

"He turned up at home looking for Mum." Ellie told her, shakily. "He wouldn't believe me when I said she wasn't there… he went through the whole house shouting for her."

"Did you tell him where she was?"

"No…" She murmured. Then all the colour drained from her face. "Oh, god… I did. I said that I hadn't seen her since she came home to change for Court."

Stroking Ellie's hair gently, Jo hugged her tightly. "It's alright, baby. It's OK. At least we know where he probably is." She tried to disentangle herself. "Stay here a minute. I need to go and tell someone; get Uniform down there to arrest him."

"No, Mum, I want to stay with you." She pleaded, suddenly seeming so much younger than she was.

Nodding, Jo kept her arm around the pregnant teenager and led her from the room. Spotting Inspector Gold heading through the door into the station, Jo attracted her attention and passed on what Ellie had told her. The older woman smiled and nodded, squeezing Ellie's arm reassuringly and telling her they'd sort it.

After learning that Freya had gone out to meet some friends for lunch, Caitlin was at the child-minder's and Max, Theo and Molly were all at school, Jo decided that the safest place for Ellie was at the station. She led her towards the canteen, settling her at a table while she went to buy them some drinks. When she returned, she found the teenager deep in conversation with Beth. Jo realised that Ellie would be perfectly happy and headed up to CID, after telling her where she'd be.

"Jo?" The DCI called as soon as she entered the office. "I hear Hannah's daughter's downstairs."

"Yes, Guv. Ellie came to tell me that Jake Webster turned up at the house looking for Hannah. She accidentally let slip that Hannah was in Court, so I passed that on to Inspector Gold and she assigned units to go down and bring him in."

"Good. Right, well… make sure you stay well clear, Jo. I don't want to hear that you or Hannah have gone anywhere near this one." He ordered.

She nodded her agreement and headed back to her desk to try and distract herself with paperwork.

x-x

"DC McKay, is it correct that you were one of the first on the scene that morning?" The prosecution barrister asked, glancing up to where Hannah stood in the stand. She had just made it to Court in time to be called to the witness box.

"I suppose so." She agreed with a nod. "Miss Whittaker was discovered by two of my colleagues, PCs Armstrong and Stamp. When they called into the station I was assigned the case and so was next on the scene."

"And you were present at all Miss Whittaker's interviews? From… the initial conversation at St Hugh's Hospital to… her final statement being taken on December 13th last year?"

"Yes, I think so."

"How many times would you say you spoke to her?"

Hannah frowned. "I… I'm not sure."

"Is that because not all of your conversations were on the record?"

"In cases of sexual assault, the victims often need reassurance that what has happened to them isn't their fault. I spent a lot of time with Emily, Miss Whittaker, convincing her that what was done to her was solely down to her attacker." The woman told the man who was staring at her.

"Is this common practise?"

"I'm sorry… I…?" Hannah looked between him and the judge quickly, unable to work out what he meant.

"Is it usual for yourself and your colleagues to spend so much time with alleged victims of sexual assault?"

Hannah nodded firmly. "Yes, it is."

"So this wasn't in any way personal for you?" The barrister asked, a smirk twisting his lips.

Feeling light-headed, the detective grasped the edge of the witness box so hard her knuckles went white. "In what way would it be personal? I can assure you that my actions in this case, as with every case I'm involved with, were entirely professional."

"How can that be true when you, DC McKay, have been raped not once, but twice?" He asked. "I doubt that anyone would be able to remain professional in that situation."

"Your Honour!" The defence barrister, Ms Anderson, complained, turning to the Judge with a furious expression on her face.

Hannah felt physically sick. She kept her gaze firmly away from the gallery where she knew Tony and Sally were sitting with Kezia. "How dare you… my personal life has absolutely nothing to do with this case and you had no right to bring it up, especially in an attempt to discredit me and my testimony. I am perfectly able to separate my own experiences from the cases I work on; especially when the situations were completely different. Within every case there is something that the investigating officer is able to relate to their own life. It's a fact of the job and we are trained to distance ourselves. If we weren't we'd never get anything done, would we?"

"Mr Bartlett, please refrain from such lines of questioning in future." The Judge ordered, staring pointedly at the barrister. Then he turned his attention to the jury. "Please ignore all comments about DC McKay's personal experiences."

There was a pause before the defence spoke again. "Would you say that you made your mind up about my client before you even met him?"

"Based on the evidence at hand – DNA samples, extensive forensic evidence, CCTV footage – we believed that there was a good chance that we'd brought in the right person. During the interviews my suspicions were confirmed by the defendant's responses to our questioning." Hannah replied, forcing herself to stay calm despite the fact that her nerves were shattered by the barrister's use of her past against her.

"And were you determined to 'nail' my client?"

"I believed, and still believe, that your client sexually assaulted Miss Whittaker. So yes, I was determined that he would be charged with her rape."

Mr Bartlett, who had obviously thought that Hannah would fall apart after his remarks about her, looked incredibly sour as he announced that he had no more questions for her. Relieved, Hannah was allowed to leave the stand and retreat from Court. As soon as she was in the corridor outside, she sank into one of the hard chairs that lined the corridors and put her head in her hands, taking several shaky breaths.

"Ms McKay?"

She glanced up to see a well-dressed young man heading briskly towards her across the polished marble floor. Standing up hurriedly, she smoothed down her skirt and tugged at the bottom of her shirt so that it lay properly.

"Are you alright?" The man asked, looking concerned.

"Fine, thanks." She assured him quickly.

"There's a man asking for you."

"For me?"

"Yes, Madam."

She thought for a moment, wondering who could possibly be there to see her. "It must be work."

"I'm not sure, Ms McKay, but he said it was urgent."

Smiling, she picked up her bag and headed away across the floor towards the staircase. Once she was down in the foyer, Hannah headed straight for the desk, where the receptionist pointed out the man who was looking for her.

Hannah's breath caught in her chest as she turned and found herself catching Jake's eyes. He smiled and crossed the floor, reaching her before she could even move. Grasping her upper arm, he attempted to pull her towards the doors, but she struggled.

"Surely you don't want to do this here?" He hissed, the tone of his voice not matching the bland smile on his face.

Conceding that it wouldn't do her much good to descend into a blazing row and, possibly, a physical fight in the middle of the Courthouse, she nodded and allowed herself to be escorted from the building. Wondering whether Jake had the gun on him, or whether it had been in Dockery's possession when he was arrested, she tried to assess the likelihood of overpowering him. The odds seemed to be in her favour when, out of the corner of her eye, Hannah spotted several police cars heading towards them, sirens blaring and lights flashing.

"Jake…" She murmured, drawing his attention to them.

As he faltered, momentarily distracted by the sight, Hannah took advantage of the situation and twisted in his arms. She grabbed his left wrist and pushed it up behind his back, pinning him into the wall of the Courthouse and leaning her weight against her right arm on his upper back, forcing his face into the stone.

"Jacob Anthony Webster," she gasped, looking along the road to where Will and Diane had jumped out of one of the area cars and were running towards them, "you are under arrest for–"

"Han?" Smithy called, appearing on her other side. "D'you want me to take over?"

"No way." She told him firmly. "I want to be down as the arresting officer, love."

He grinned and held his hands up. "Then go ahead."

"Jacob Anthony Webster, you are under arrest for kidnapping, armed robbery, possession of a firearm, assault and on suspicion of conspiracy to the murder of Stella Webster." Hannah snapped. She turned to Smithy and raised an eyebrow. "Anything else; apart from _really_ pissing me off?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Good…" She returned to her arrest, applying more pressure on Jake's arm and making him groan in pain. "You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you may later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?"

"Han, please!" He started.

She stepped backwards as Will and Roger moved forwards to put the handcuffs on. "Get him out of my fucking sight."

As Jake was pulled away, still calling out to her, Smithy put an arm around the red-head's shoulders. "You alright, Han?"

"Never better." She replied. Catching the look on his face, she sighed. "I'm just relieved he's been arrested, babe. And I'm glad that it was me who got him."

"Well… I've never seen anyone make an arrest looking quite so…" He stepped back and looked her up and down, raising an eyebrow and whistling at her.

Hannah swatted at his arm, before wrapping her own around his waist and pulling him towards the area car. "Oh, behave, Sarge…"

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you to EVERYONE who's reading this! If you could spare a second to leave a review I would be very grateful! :)**_

_**x**_


	23. Chapter 23

"You scrub up well." Mickey teased as Hannah strode into CID a while later. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a skirt before. Shame about the black eye."

Hannah had hitched a lift back to the station with Smithy and Diane, but been forced to hide in the car until Jake was safely in the building. It had taken Will, Roger, Nate and Nikki to force him inside, still shouting for Hannah to listen to him. When Smithy had finally let her out of the car, convinced she was safe, she had bumped into Gina on her way through the yard and been filled in on how they'd known Jake was coming to find her.

"Thanks, love." She murmured distractedly, flashing Mickey a smile. "Where are Jo and Ellie?"

He twisted in his chair, thinking. "Ellie's down in the canteen with Beth and I think Jo's out with Grace. They had a lead on that burglary at Eastman Court and the DCI let her out about an hour ago."

"Thanks, Mickey."

Hannah turned and headed back through the double doors, rolling her eyes at the wolf-whistle aimed in her direction by Stuart as she passed him. Smirking to herself, she rushed down the corridor as fast as she could on her stiletto heels and pushed through a crowd of uniformed officers blocking the corridor, shrugging off their comments about her appearance.

"Oi!" She snapped good-naturedly, turning to raise an eyebrow at Nate who was doing his best to look innocent. "I heard that PC Roberts."

"What? I was only saying Jo's a lucky woman."

"It was the comment after that that I took exception to." She informed him, smirking slightly. "That could technically be classed as sexual harassment."

"Alright, alright!" He chuckled. "I'm sorry!"

Hannah swatted his arm, before carrying on along the corridor and pushing through the doors into the canteen. She smiled at the sight of her pregnant daughter laughing with the small, brunette PC who she had struck up a close friendship with. Occasionally she found it strange; waking up on the morning after Ellie's eighteenth birthday to find the young police constable asleep on the landing outside her bedroom was just one example. But, the detective was only too happy to encourage their friendship, convinced that Beth could only be a good influence on Ellie and Freya.

"Hey, baby." She murmured softly, planting a kiss on her daughter's head, before slipping into the seat beside her and smiling at Beth. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, are you?" Ellie demanded, immediately turning the focus back to her mother. "I'm so sorry."

"What for? It's not your fault."

The teenager sighed. "I told him you were at Court."

"Yes," Hannah reasoned with a shrug, "but you came straight in to tell Jo. At least this way he's in custody now. I'm sorry, love, but your Dad's definitely going back to prison for a long time."

"Good." Ellie snapped in a hard tone. "That's exactly where he deserves to be for what he did to you and Mum and what he's been doing to you for years. Did he kill Nan, too?"

The detective paused. "He's been arrested for conspiracy to murder. Whatever he's done, I still can't see Jake murdering anyone, especially not Stella. It's more likely that she was killed by someone else, but Jake enabled it to happen."

"The sooner he's locked away the better." Her daughter replied angrily.

As Ellie leant back in her chair, folding her arms defensively, Hannah reached out and rubbed her shoulder. She was about to change the subject to something lighter when the doors opened and the two detectives entering caught her attention. With a quick goodbye to the two young women, she hurried across the room and caught hold of Sam's arm.

"How was Court?" The blonde asked, deliberately steering the conversation before her friend had the chance.

"I'd rather not think about it." Hannah replied. At the questioning gaze directed on her, she gave a small shrug of her shoulders and turned her gaze to Terry. "When's Jake being interviewed?"

"The duty brief's just gone in to speak to him." He told her, accepting the mug of coffee from the woman behind the counter and moving away to continue the conversation. "We're going in when we've finished these."

"Hannah, you can't be involved in this." Sam reminded her firmly.

"I know that; I was just wondering."

The DI looked at her sharply. "Good. Is Jo back?"

"I don't know. Mickey said she was out with Grace."

Nodding, Sam shot her a smile and rubbed her forearm gently, before walking towards the table where Beth and Ellie were sitting. She slipped an arm around the red-head's shoulders, bending slightly to chat to her for a couple of minutes. Sam gave Ellie a quick squeeze before turning on her heels and heading towards the doors, motioning for Terry to follow her.

"Where are you going?" She demanded as Hannah followed them from the canteen.

"The obbo room." Hannah told her firmly.

Pulling the younger woman to one side, her friend rubbed her upper arms gently. "Darling, Jake's going to say lots of things to deflect the blame. You know how this works. I don't want you to hear whatever crap he throws at you and Jo."

"I need to see his interview, Sam."

"No you don't." The blonde persisted. "Go and see Ellie."

"Sam… if this was you, you'd be fighting tooth and nail to get to be part of that interview, you know you would. All I want to do is go in the observation room and watch what he has to say. I need to hear why… I need to know what all this has really been about."

DI Nixon sighed and nodded, waiting until Hannah had closed the door to the observation room behind her before going into the interview room and settling herself at the table. She regarded Jake Webster with a look that could not be described as anything other than contempt for a couple of moments. She had had to persuade the DCI to let her take this interview, promising him that she wouldn't let her personal feelings influence her questioning at all. Now Sam wasn't convinced she'd be able to stick to her word.

Behind the one-way window, Hannah folded her arms almost defensively, staring through into the interview room. She could tell, even from the other side of the glass, that Sam was incredibly tense already. Chewing on her thumbnail, Hannah barely blinked as Terry formally began the interview and they launched into the questioning.

"So, Jake…" Sam started, leaning her elbows on the table. "Can you tell us where you were between midnight and five am on Wednesday?"

"In bed."

Sam arched an eyebrow. "And did you not notice that your mother was being attacked in the living room?"

"I didn't say I was in my bed."

"So where were you?"

"I was at my girlfriend's; Kelly Pearce. She lives at flat 191 Bramwell House on the Larkmead Estate." He informed them with a smirk.

Terry stood up to leave the room. "We will be checking. For the benefit of the tape, DC Perkins is leaving the room at 15:42."

Sam said nothing until Terry returned to the room, staring at Jake carefully. "Do you have any idea what happened in your mother's flat that night?"

"None at all."

"You don't seem particularly shocked or upset by your mother's death." Terry pointed out. "If anything, you don't seem bothered at all."

"Of course I'm upset. But ask Hannah how upset she was by her parents' deaths. When you grow up with junkies for parents the idea that they could die on you at any moment is always in your mind. Then, when it happens it seems inevitable and you deal with it." Jake told them.

Sam frowned at the mention of her friend, but was under no illusions that her name would crop up plenty more times during the interview. In the observation room, Hannah clenched her jaw in irritation that he'd connected them so personally by mentioning her parents.

"Alright… do you have any idea who might be responsible for your mother's death?"

"No."

"Who has a key to your mother's flat?" Terry asked, tilting his head slightly as he scrutinised the man.

"Mum and me. I guess just me, now."

"Are you sure no one else has access to a key?"

"No."

"So then why do you think there were no signs of forced entry?" Sam demanded.

Jake shrugged. "She obviously let them in."

"Why would she do that in the middle of the night, unless it was someone she trusted?" The blonde asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Like I said, she was a junkie." Jake reminded her calmly. "She'd have let anyone in to get her next fix."

Sam paused, taking a breath and considering her next move.


	24. Chapter 24

"Where were you on Wednesday night?"

Jake leant back in his chair cockily. "I was with my daughter, Ellie McKay."

"Ah, yes." Sam smiled, shuffling some papers in front of her and pulling out a transcript of the statement Ellie had made to Jo. "Ellie came into the station and made a statement. According to her, you phoned her mobile at half past ten from outside her house. Is that correct? We can check, so think carefully before you answer."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Why did you want to see your nineteen-year-old, five-months-pregnant daughter at that time of night? Surely you could have waited until the next morning?"

"I needed to talk to her."

"What about, Mr Webster?" Sam pressed, leaning forward and staring at him hard.

He smirked. "It's private."

"I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."

"I wanted to talk to Ellie about her Mum." Jake told the detectives with a smirk. Sam leant back in her chair again and folded her arms. "I needed her help to make Hannah see that she belongs with me, not that dyke she's shacked up with. It's not right… I told Ellie… I told her that her kid would be brought up in a house with two of them over my dead body."

The blonde DI balled her hand into a fist at his words about her friends and the expression on his face. Beside her Terry laid a hand on her arm under the table, his gaze never wavering from the face of the man in front of him.

"Do you mean Hannah belongs with or to you?" Sam asked bluntly, scowling at Jake.

He shrugged. "What's the difference?"

Sensing Sam was about to explode, Terry stepped in and steered the interview back to the crimes Webster had been accused of. "So you picked Ellie up at half past ten from Corrison Avenue? Where were you before that?"

"No comment."

"We have CCTV footage which shows you and Nicky Dockery carrying out an armed robbery at the jewellers on Esmond Street just after nine o'clock on Wednesday night."

"No comment."

"I haven't asked you anything." Terry pointed out, ignoring the smirk that twitched at the corners of his colleague's lips as Jake scowled at him. Pushing stills taken from the footage across the table, the detective paused as the duty brief examined the pictures. "For the benefit of the tape, I'm showing Mr Webster photographs taken from the CCTV from Baskerville's Jewellers on Esmond Street. So, Jake, where were you before picking Ellie up at half past ten?"

"No comment."

Terry leant forwards. "We have more than enough evidence to put you at the scene of this robbery." He told the younger man gruffly. "We also have enough evidence to charge you with abducting DCs McKay and Masters last night, the attempted abduction of DC McKay this morning, the assault of DC McKay outside the Green Archer Pub on Tuesday and the attempted robbery of Kelman's Jewellers in the early hours of this morning. You're going to prison for a very long time so, if I were you, I'd do myself a favour and start cooperating."

"What do you know about your mother's death?" Sam tried again, knowing that there was a lot they weren't being told. As he opened his mouth, no doubt to say he didn't know, she narrowed her eyes. "Think very carefully about how you answer because at the moment there are only two sets of prints, aside from your mother's, at the crime scene and DC McKay has a concrete alibi."

He paused, before glancing sideways at the duty brief, who shrugged slightly and nodded. "I knew she'd crack and tell Hannah the real time of the raid. She's always been a soft touch. The plan was that we'd tell her it was happening an hour later than it actually was so, by the time you lot turned up, we'd be out of there."

"Why?"

"Revenge." He grinned. "Hannah's job means far more to her than anything or anyone. I wanted her to know what it feels like to lose everything."

"So Stella ruined your plans? Did you lose your temper and attack her?"

"No." Jake snapped. "I told Danny and gave him my flat key."

"So Danny Dockery murdered your mother?" Sam asked grimly, clenching both her hands into fists. He just shrugged and folded his arms, leaning back in his chair. The two detectives exchanged a look. "In that case… Jacob Webster, I am further arresting you for being an accessory to the murder of Stella Webster."

"How did DC Masters' cardigan end up in Nicky Dockery's van; the van used in the armed robbery at Baskerville's Jewellers?"

"It was her cardigan?" Jake sounded surprised and a little disappointed at the news. "I thought it was Hannah's. I took it from her house when I was there."

"Who was the woman with you and Nicky Dockery?" Sam pressed. When he didn't seem keen to reply, she sighed. "If you don't tell us we're going to have to arrest Ellie, seeing as her prints put her in the van."

"It was Jules. Julia Cairns; Nicky's girlfriend." He told them reluctantly.

"Thank you."

He smirked at her. "Unlike Hannah, I put my daughter first."

"Hardly…" Sam muttered under her breath. "Tell us about last night. Why abduct two of my DCs and leave them in Westway Woods?"

"Like I said; revenge."

"So that was just you, acting alone?" Terry asked.

"Yeah."

"Really? So why have DC Masters and DC McKay independently made statements saying that Danny Dockery was with you?"

"Maybe he was…"

Frustrated, Sam took a deep breath and leant back in her chair. "Where did you get the guns?"

"No comment."

"Did Dockery supply them?"

"No comment."

"Were you intending to kill Jo and Hannah?"

He leant forwards and smirked at her. There was a pause before he answered. "No comment."

Sam stood up, pushing her chair back roughly and moving to the door. "Interview suspended at 16:37."

x-x

When Jo returned to the station, she was informed that Sam and Terry were interviewing Webster and Hannah was around somewhere. Instinctively, the brunette knew that Hannah would be in the observation room and made her way down to the corridor, checking each room as she passed.

"Babe? You alright?" She murmured, spotting Hannah standing motionless in front of the window and staring at the interview taking place on the other side.

"He wanted to make me pay for choosing to be with you." Hannah murmured. "He wanted me to lose my job."

Sighing, Jo moved to stand behind her girlfriend. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist and rested her head on her shoulder, following Hannah's gaze and watching as Sam struggled to keep a lid on her temper. They heard as Jake gave several 'no comment' answers in a row. Jo tightened her grip on Hannah and pressed her lips to her girlfriend's neck as Jake refused to deny that he had intended to kill the pair of them the evening before.

Immediately after suspending the interview, Sam opened the room of the observation room and slipped inside. She let out a shriek of frustration, running her hands through her hair as the couple in front of her turned around.

"Well done for keeping your temper under control, love." Hannah said with a weak smile, moving forwards and pulling Sam into a tight hug. "I'd have smacked him straight away."

"I want him behind bars, Hannah; I had to control myself."

They left the observation room, hoping that Jake had already been shown back to his cell. In the corridor, however, they spotted him waiting beside the gates for the Custody Sergeant to let him through. Turning on her stiletto heels, Hannah hurried away, ignoring his angry shouts for her to listen to him. Needing fresh air and a cigarette, the red-head left Sam and Jo staring after her and almost ran up to CID to pick up her bag, before she rushed down the stairs and crashed through the door to the reception area, where she was stopped by Smithy.

"Han? You had a phone call."

Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked towards him, leaning heavily on the reception desk. "Who?"

"Marilyn Anderson? She's a…"

"She's the prosecution barrister from the Hamilton rape case." Hannah supplied, not needing him to remind her. "I was giving evidence this morning. What did she want?"

Smithy looked a little confused as he picked up a scribbled note on a scrap of paper and read from it. "She called to apologise. She said that if she'd known the defence would bring up your personal life she'd have stopped the line of questioning sooner."

"Oh… right." She reached out her hand for the paper the Sergeant had been reading from and glanced at it, seeing that there was a phone number. "I'll give her a ring…"

"You OK?"

"Yeah, love, thanks…"

Pushing the scrap of paper into her bag, she smiled and continued outside. Hannah leant against the wall and fumbled with the packet of cigarettes, struggling to light up for a couple of moments as her hands shook. She had only taken a couple of drags, when someone snatched the cigarette out of her hand and stamped on it. Turning to snap angrily at the culprit, Hannah swallowed her insults as she realised it was her daughter standing beside her.

"I thought you'd given up."

"I had." Hannah admitted. "But then I started again."

Ellie leant against the wall beside her mother, staring straight ahead. "It'll kill you, you know."

"I'm gonna die at some point anyway." Glancing sideways, Hannah smirked slightly as she spoke, earning herself a light smack on the stomach from the teenager. "You alright, baby?"

"Yeah… you?"

"I'm always alright."

"No, you're not; not always." Ellie reminded her. She sighed. "Jo told me you watched his interview." Hannah didn't need to ask who her daughter was talking about; it was obvious. She nodded. "What did he say?"

"Stuff… just stuff that doesn't need to be remembered or passed on."

There was a long pause. Ellie seemed to be deep in thought. Hannah's hands were itching to light up another cigarette, but she knew that her daughter would just throw it away as she had with the other one. Dressed only in her skirt and blouse, the detective was starting to get cold and wondered whether to pull her daughter away from wherever her mind had taken her, when Ellie spoke. She spat out the words as though she was scared of how Hannah would react.

"I want to join the police."


	25. Chapter 25

"I want to join the police." Ellie repeated as Hannah just frowned at her.

"No." Her mother said, shaking her head. "Absolutely not."

"Mum… I'm not asking your permission. I'm telling you that I want to join the police force. I'm going to drop out of University and then, after the baby's born I'm going to seriously look into becoming a copper." The teenager said seriously.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why would you want to join the police when you've seen how dangerous it can be?" Hannah asked, unable to consider the idea of her daughter wanting to put herself in similar situations to those she had witnessed and been in herself.

Ellie shook her head. "Why are you a copper, Mum? How can you and Jo put yourselves in dangerous situations?"

"Because… because I love my job and I know Jo does too."

"Exactly." The teenager agreed. "And I want to do the same. I want to actually try and do some good and help people."

"So be a nurse! Work for a charity! Do something that doesn't have so much danger involved."

Laughing softly, Ellie turned to face her mother, looking into her eyes and seeing that she was scared. "I will if you will."

"That's not… Ellie… listen, love…"

"You're gonna be a Nan. Maybe it's time you did something that doesn't involve you being dragged out of cars at gun-point or being attacked."

Hannah looked disgusted at the thought. "Els, I'm only thirty-three; don't shove me in a care home just yet. If I didn't have the element of danger to contend with I'd go mad. I wouldn't be the same person if I wasn't a copper."

"Right." She nodded, squeezing her mother's hand tightly. "I would never, never ask you to quit your job because I know how much you love it. That's part of the reason why I want to have a go at being a police officer too. I really think I'd be good at it; with you and Mum around how could I fail? If I don't enjoy it, then I'll try something else. But at least let me try, Mum."

"You're going to do it anyway and I'm not going to get any peace until I give you my blessing, am I?"

The younger red-head grinned. "Nope."

"For what it's worth, I think you'll be brilliant." Hannah told her daughter, pulling her into a tight hug and pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

"Thanks, Mum."

"Have you told Jo your plan yet?"

Ellie looked at her, sensing that her Mum suspected that she would have. "No, I thought I'd tell you first. Mum won't act like a toddler if she's not the first to hear my news."

"I do not act like a toddler!"

"You so do!" The teenager laughed, wrapping an arm around her mother's waist and pulling her towards the doors. "Come on… Mum and Sam sent me to see where you'd got to. How was Court this morning? I heard Will and Nate discussing your 'great legs' earlier… maybe you should stick to trousers at work."

"Who are you, Gok Wan?" The detective asked, arching an eyebrow and deliberately avoiding the question. "You jealous, Miss McKay?"

"Not at all, Grandma."

Hannah winced. "Oh, don't!"

"Hey, look on the positive side," Ellie continued, enjoying winding her mother up, "if I'd followed your example you'd have been a Nan in your twenties."

"Well I'm bloody glad you didn't."

"I can't wait for everyone to find out you've got a grandkid… it'll be hilarious!"

The older McKay raised an eyebrow. "Ask Sam what she thinks about that."

"You, her and Mum can have a little Grandmas' club." Ellie suggested, barely managing to choke back a giggle.

"I love you, Ellie, but I swear to god if you call me Grandma or anything along those lines again until that baby is born, I will swing for you." Hannah threatened with a smirk.

"Alright, alright…"

Hannah wrapped an arm around her daughter and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "By the way am I going to have an emotional teenage boy to deal with? Or his parents?"

"What?" Ellie screwed up her nose, not knowing what she was talking about.

"The baby's dad; d'you know who it is?"

"No."

Raising an eyebrow at the bluntness of the teenager's reply, Hannah smirked. "Is that an 'I don't know who Theo's dad is' no or an 'I don't know who Molly's dad is' no?"

Ellie frowned again. "But you do know who Theo's dad is, don't you? Isn't it Carl?"

"Of course it's Carl." Hannah agreed, overlooking the fact that she also knew who Molly's dad was. Ellie didn't know and she didn't need to know, either. "So do you know who your baby's dad is?"

"No, Mum, honestly. I was out in freshers week and we got drunk and it was a mistake." She replied before stopping and looking into her mother's eyes. "But with you and Mum around, this baby couldn't be coming into a better family."

x-x

Jo and Sam were in the DI's office when Ellie and Hannah made their way into CID a while later. They'd gone into the canteen because, in the absence of a cigarette, the detective was dying for a coffee. While they were there, the teenager had announced that she was starving so her mother had bought her a late lunch. Then Hannah had phoned Freya to check she didn't mind picking up the kids and filled her in on the latest developments.

Hannah had told Jo and Sam that Ellie had an announcement to make and then stood back, letting the teenager tell them her news. She had almost hoped that they would make Ellie reconsider her future career plans but, after listening to her justifying her decision to the two women, Hannah had to concede that she had obviously given it a lot of thought.

"Well, if you're really sure I'll speak to my friend at Hendon and see when you can get in." Sam offered.

Ellie shook her head. "I don't want favours." She told them firmly. "Thanks, Sam, but I want to do this on my own. I don't want to the fact that you three are detectives to play any part in how I get on."

"I'm proud of you, sweetheart." Jo told her softly, pulling Ellie into a hug.

"Thanks, Mum. The only thing I would ask, Sam, is that you pull a few strings so I can do my probation here. It won't be for a while yet, though… I've got to have this little one first." She murmured, stroking her stomach.

"Of course." Sam nodded with a broad smile. "I'm sure we can arrange that."

The three detectives discussed Jake's arrest for a while, each of them relieved that they had enough evidence for him to be convicted of all the charges laid against him. Hannah wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the situation. But when Jo reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly, the younger woman decided that she couldn't wait to hear he'd been sent to prison for a long time.

* * *

_**A/N: Hey lovelies! Thanks for reading this!**_

_**There will be another one because, well, it wrote itself when I wasn't looking... Anyway, it's called **_**Mistakes**_**, so watch this space! :)**_

_**x**_


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